The panel has sought modifications to the policy and
introducing state level compulsory exams for classes V and VIII.

Students, who fail to achieve the required learning level,
will be given one more opportunity to clear the exam.

In case they fail to achieve the learning level again, they
have to repeat the respective class.

The panel has suggested the policy should be applicable to
classes I to IV, VI and VII subjected to required learning levels.

Students have to achieve the required learning level from
classes I to IV, VI and VII.

Those students, who fail to achieve the learning level, will
be marked as unsuccessful in their report cards.

The recommendations come in the backdrop of Annual Status
Education Report-2014.

The committee has found over 50% class V students in India
are unable to read, write and comprehend books of their level.

Shyam Benegal to head panel to revamp censor board - 01 Jan 16

Highlights:

The information and broadcasting ministry has constituted a
panel to give recommendations for restructuring of censor board, which has been
mired in controversies in the recent past.

The constituted panel is under the director Shyam Benegal .

The panel would submit its report in two months.

It has included filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, adman
Piyush Pandey and film critic Bhawana Somaaya.

National Film Development Council MD Nina Lath Gupta and
Joint Secretary (Films) Sanjay Murthy would also be part of committee.

The recommendations of this Committee are expected to
provide a holistic framework and enable those tasked with the work of
certification of films to discharge their responsibilities keeping in view this
framework.

The panel will also suggest changes in the Cinematograph
act.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which is
commonly referred to as the censor board.

It has been mired in controversy since the beginning of the
year when Pahlaj Nihalani took charge as chairperson.

Brief History :

Shyam Benega is an Indian director and screenwriter.

Shyam Benegal, was born on 14 December 1934 in Trimulgherry, Secunderabad.

His first four feature films Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India.

He has expressed dislike of the term, preferring his work to be called New or Alternate cinema.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991.

On 8 August 2007, Benegal was awarded the highest award in Indian cinema for lifetime achievement, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2005.

He has won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi seven times.

The centre has Amended PAN rules and declared,false PAN could land you in prison - 01 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified fresh
amendments regarding quoting of Permanent Account Number (PAN) which will make
it mandatory from January 1, 2016.

To mention the PAN number for cash transactions such as
hotel or foreign travel bills exceeding Rs 50,000, purchase of jewellery over
Rs 2 lakh and property transactions of Rs 10 lakh and above.

Any false declaration of PAN could also land an individual
behind bars or a company liable to prosecution that includes a jail term of up
to seven years and a fine.

As part of the directives issued by the government for
implementation of the PAN regime from January 1, 2016 any person not having a
PAN but undertaking a transaction which requires a mandatory quoting of it,
will have to fill up 'Form No. 60'.

In order to achieve a two-pronged target of curbing the
circulation of black money and widening tax base, the government has recently
notified changes in the monetary limits that will require mandatory quoting of
PAN.

Term deposits exceeding Rs 50,000 or Rs 5 lakh in a year
with banks, post offices and non banking financial companies among others
qualify for mandatory quoting of PAN.

PAN has also been made mandatory for opening all bank
accounts except Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts.

The Union Govt. has target to make LPG available to all in three years - 01 Jan 16

Highlights:

The government has declared 2016 as the ‘Year of LPG
Consumers’.

The govt. also unveiled plans to make the clean cooking fuel
available to all households by end of 2018 and roll out online bill payment
facility and transparent gas cylinders.

The govt. has work to increase accessibility and
availability of the cooking in the country.

In coming three calendar years 2016, 2017 and 2018, the
govt. has set an ambitious target to provide clean cooking fuel to entire
population.

The government has launched LPG emergency helpline number
1906 for the cooking gas consumers across the country.

The consumers can call on this helpline to seek assistance
to deal with gas leakage..

About the availability of LPG in the country, there are 27
crore subscribers in the country, of which 16.5 crore are active subscribers
and oil marketing companies cover about 60 % of the population.

About rolling out LPG online bill payment service, the miistrywill launch this service during the
2016 calendar year.

On the launch of composite transparent cylinder, it will be
a reality in the financial year 2016-17.

NSA Ajit Doval to visit China in the first week of January to discuss border dispute - 01 Jan 16

Highlights:

National Security Advisor( NSA) Ajit Doval will visit China soon
.

He will hold informal talks with his Chinese counterpart to
discuss the vexed border dispute and other strategic issues.

Mr.Doval is also the Special Representative for Sino-India
boundary talks.

He will hold informal dialogue with his Chinese counterpart
and state councillor Yang Jiechi on January 5 during which both officials would
review the progress made on the border issue.

Mr. Doval would also call on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on
January 6.

Till now,India and China have so far held 18 round of talks
to resolve the dispute along the 3488km long border.

The developments come as China seeks to deepen its
engagement with countries in South Asia, which in turn has raised concerns in
India.

China has been demanding the border dispute is concerned
only to the Eastern sector specially Arunachal Pradesh which it claims as part
of southern Tibet.

But India asserts that the dispute includes the Western
sector, specially the area occupied by China in the 1962 war.

Since he took over as NSA, Doval has visited Beijing twice
and taken part in the 18th round of border talks held in New Delhi this year.

He visited China in September 2014 for talks ahead of
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India. Later, the NSA was part of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's delegation which visited China earlier this year.

Two of such incursions happened during the visit of Li to
India in 2013 and Xi in 2014.

China, for its part, maintains that the problem arises due
to different perceptions of the border.

Both sides opened more border points to improve contacts
between the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

McMahon line was agreed till Burma (Myanmar) by China, the
same was not accepted thereafter.

The line is named after Sir Henry McMahon, foreign secretary
of the British-run Indian government and the chief negotiator of settling
disputes with China in 1914.

Ajinkya Rahane (Rs 95,000,000 vs Rs 80,000,000) and Steven
Smith (Rs 55,000,000 vs Rs 40,000,000) too were among the cricketers who would
be paid less actual salary by their franchise according to the BCCI list.

This is the first time since the introduction of the
retention system in 2010 that BCCI have disclosed the actual remuneration paid
to the retained players.

As per the new law, people can now file cheque bounce cases
at the place where the cheque is presented for clearance and not at the place
of issue.

The new law, the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act,
2015 has been recommended by the President.

There are an estimated 18 lakh cheque bounce cases across
the country, of which about 38,000 are pending in High Courts.

Some litigants have to travel to different places from where
the cheques were issued and not honoured.

The legislation provides that cases of bouncing of cheques
can be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction the bank branch of the payee
(person who receives the cheque) lies. It will also result in fast prosecution
of offenders.

If a complaint against a person issuing a cheque has been
filed in the court with the appropriate jurisdiction, then all subsequent
complaints against that person will be filed in the same court, irrespective of
the relevant jurisdiction area.

The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was passed
by the Parliament in the recently concluded Winter Session.

The Act has also repealed an ordinance which was
re-promulgated earlier. The President had promulgated the ordinance twice - in
June and September this year.

The clarity on jurisdictional issues for trying cases of
cheque bouncing would increase the credibility of the cheque as a financial
instrument.

This would help trade and commerce in general and allow the
lending institutions, including banks, to continue to extend financing to the
economy, without the apprehension of loan default on account of bouncing of a
cheque.

The Union minister of state for home affairs, Kiren Rijiju,
handed over the document of citizenship to the singer.

Adnan Sami has been granted Indian citizenship with effect
from January 1 ,2016.

He has requested to the Centre to legalise his status in the
country on humanitarian grounds.

Till December 31, he was on a three-month visa extension
which was given to him on October 6 by the ministry.

Brief History:

Adnan Sami Khan is a singer, musician, pianist, actor and
composer.

He is belongs to Pakistani origin based in Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India.

He was born on 15 August 1973 London, United Kingdom.

He was born to Naureen and Arshad Sami Khan in London, UK.

He is of Pakistani, Indian, and Afghan ancestry.

He has a command of Indian and Western
classical/semi-classical music, jazz, rock, pop, Indian classical music, fusion
and Indian film music.

He is the first person in musical history to play Indian
classical music on the piano in a style.

He pioneered and created through the Indian instrument
called the santoor.

The Times of India has called him the "Sultan of
Music"

French journalist Ursula Gauthie forced out by China to leave for misleading the media - 02 Jan 16

Highlights:

A French journalist named as Ursula Gauthier is leaving
China.

She has been discarded y Chinese govt. after being denied press credentials and
facing heavy criticism from the foreign ministry and state media over her
reporting.

Ursula Gauthier, a longtime journalist for the French news
magazine L'Obs, planned to board a flight out of Beijing.

She would be the first foreign journalist forced to leave
China since 2012.

Earlier, American Melissa Chan, then working for Al Jazeera
in Beijing, was expelled.

The Chinese government refused to renew Gauthier's press
credentials, without which she could not obtain a new visa.

It demanded that she apologize and express contrition over
what it said was anti-Chinese bias.

According to the Foreign Ministry of China,Gauthier was no
longer "suitable" to be allowed to work in China because she had
supported "terrorism and cruel acts" that killed civilians and
refused to apologize for her words.

She earlier called the accusations absurd andchallenge China should prosecute her if it
truly believed she supported terrorism.

Gauthier was also subject to a harsh media campaign for
writing in a Nov. 18 article, shortly after the attacks in Paris, that
Beijing's expression of solidarity with Paris was partially a bid to gain
international support for its contention that ethnic violence in China's
northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang is linked to global terrorism.

Gauthier wrote that some violent attacks in Xinjiang
involving members of the minority Uighur (pronounced WEE-gur) community showed
no evidence of foreign links.

A Xinjiang court last year sentenced a Uighur scholar
critical of China's ethnic policies in Xinjiang to life in prison.

In December, a Beijing court convicted a prominent lawyer of
fanning ethnic hatred based on his comments that Beijing should rethink its
Xinjiang policies.

In her article, Gauthier focused on a recent deadly attack
in a mine in Xinjiang portrayed by China as an act of terrorism committed with
the collusion of overseas groups.

She described it as more likely an act by Uighurs against
mine workers from China's majority Han ethnic group over what the Uighurs
perceived as mistreatment, injustice and exploitation.

Gauthier's article in L'Obs triggered condemnation from
Beijing.

Odisha government has launched a webpage and an SMS number: people can send budget suggestions via email, SMS - 02 Jan 16

Highlights:

Recently, Odisha government has launched a webpage and an
SMS number to accept suggestions from the general public to increase their participation in budget
preparation.

The finance department has been holding pre-budget
consultation with the cross section of the society. ]

There is a need to take a step ahead and make the budgetary
process open and participative using ICT through email and SMS.

The finance department developed a webpage,
budget.odisha.gov.in, to host the budget documents.

The suggestions are
invited in a structured format (displayed in the web page) for preparation of
Annual Budget 2016-'17.

Similarly, suggestions can also be sent through SMS to the
mobile number (+91) 9438161111.

The facility will be available for a fortnight beginning
today.

Members of the public, civil society organization, advocacy
groups are requested to make use of this opportunity to participate in the
budget-making process of the state government, the finance minister said.

Odisha Government is one of the most advanced states in the
country in implementing such a system.

From April 1 ,2016 ,the government will get financial
support directly in their bank accounts .

It is roll out a similar programme for kerosene where the
users will buy the cooking fuel at market rate.

It is possible after the success of paying subsidy to LPG users
in their bank accounts.

No more LPG subsidy if you earn above Rs 10 lakh a year

The cash subsidy to be paid to users will be equivalent to
the difference between current PDS price of about Rs 12 and market rate of Rs
43 per litre.

The move will help curtail subsidy outgo for kerosene, which
in 2014-15 was about Rs 24,799 crore.

Several state governments have come forward to implement
direct benefit transfer (DBT) in kerosene in selected districts.

The scheme will be rolled out from April 1 in Raipur, Durg
and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Panipat and Panchkula in Haryana, Shimla, Solan
and Una in Himachal Pradesh, Chhatra, Giridih, East Singbhum, Hazaribagh,
Jamtara and Khunti in Jharkhand.

Besides, the scheme will be implemented in Hoshangabad,
Harda, Khandwa and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh, Amaravati and Latur in
Maharashtra, Taran Taran, Pathankot and Mohali in Punjab and Pali, Jhunjhunu
and Kota in Rajasthan.

This is the best step in last 30years.

Thousands of crores were earned by politicians by mixing
kerosene with diesel.BJP govt deserves laurels for this.

The Central Government caps kerosene subsidy at Rs 12/litre,
LPG at Rs 18/kg

The consumer will pay the un-subsidised price of kerosene at
the time of purchase.

Subsequently, the amount of subsidy will be directly
transferred to the bank account of the beneficiary.

The Union Govt wants collegium functions under RTI - 03 Jan 16

Highlights:

A first draft of the memorandum of procedure (MoP) would
guide appointment of judges to the apex court.

It has been prepared by the law ministry after preliminary
round of discussions with the attorney general and top officials of the Prime
Minister's Office.

On the basis of discussion, the government seems to be
hesitant in putting down some of the transparency-related guidelines in the MoP
without prior approval of the Chief Justice of India just to avoid any
confrontation later.

Any MoP can only be finalised with the concurrence of the
CJI, and there the government fears it may encounter resistance on making
proceedings of the collegium system subject to RTI Act.

Law minister Sadananda Gowda has sought an appointment with
the Chief Justice of India sometime next week to discuss the matter before MoP
is formalised.

The ministry is waiting for responses from the chief
justices of 24 high courts and chief ministers before formalising any MoP
proposals for the HCs.

The law minister had sent a letter to them soon after the
conclusion of the winter session.

There will be two different MoPs, one guiding the
appointment of judges to the HCs and another for the SC.

Earlier, during the hearing of a case related to improvement
of the apex court collegium system, an SC bench had on December 16 asked the
government to frame an MoP in consultation with the CJI that could prescribe
eligibility criteria for judges selection besides recording of the minutes of
the proceedings of the collegium.

The bench had also observed that the procedure for the
appointment of judges could be made available in public domain.

Selection of Judges must be smooth and transparent.

Both CJI and government must have unanimous procedures.

The government had, however, favoured bringing the
appointment process under the RTI Act to maintain transparency.

The judiciary and the government are on the same page as far
as setting up a separate secretariat at SC and each of the HCs dealing with the
appointment and transfer of judges are concerned.

The government is also emphasising on selection through a
consultative process where the names of candidates can be invited from the Bar,
the government and the judiciary.

The MoP may also provide for a mechanism for dealing with
complaints against judges.

The Union government has taken a decision to introduce an
amended technology up-gradation fund scheme (A-TUFS) in place of the existing
revised, restructured TUFS has brought cheer to the textile industry.

The scheme would ease the financial burden of textile units
and enable higher investments in the sector.

A-TUFS would enable the textile industry to ease its
financial position and also plan investments.

The new scheme specifically targets employment generation
and exports by encouraging apparel and garment industry.

This will help in providing employment especially to women,
and increase India's share in global exports.

The scheme would generate investments to the tune of Rs.1 lakh
crore and create over 30 lakh jobs, the government said after the cabinet
approved A-TUFS.

The spinning sector, however, is not likely to be included
in the scheme as it already has excess capacity.

The government's decision to make budgetary allocation for
the committed liability of the earlier schemes comes as a great relief to the
industry, which is going through a tough time.

Under the new scheme, there will be two broad categories -
apparel, garment and technical textiles, where 15% subsidy would be provided on
capital investment, subject to a ceiling of Rs.30 crore for entrepreneurs over a
period of five years' and subsectors.

The remaining sub-sectors would be eligible for 10% subsidy,
subject to a ceiling of Rs.20 crore on similar lines.

A budgetary provision of Rs.17,822 crore has been approved,
of which Rs.12,671 crore is for committed liabilities under the ongoing scheme,
and Rs.5,151 crore is for new cases under A-TUFS.

Recently,two Indian cities -- Delhi and Mumbai -- have made it to a
top-30 list of the world's most powerful, productive and connected cities.

According to the study conducted by international real
estate consultancy JLL, India's financial capital Mumbai has been ranked 22nd
while the national capital Delhi is placed at 24th.

The list is topped by Tokyo, which along with New York,
London and Paris, make the top four 'super cities'.

These four were the destination of over 50 per cent of all
foreign capital invested in the Global Top 30 cities.

Top-30 global cities account for 64% of the total
cross-border investment into the 'Global300' - an expanded index of the cities
in terms of their "commercial attraction" or economic and real estate
power and status.

Mumbai is also on the top-10 "improvers" list.

Top-10 improvers are cities whose scores in the index of
"commercial attraction" have improved the most over the past year.

India beat defending champions Afghanistan 2-1 to lift the
South Asian Football Federation Cup for the seventh time.

India had lost to Afghanistan 0-2 in the final of 2013
edition at the Greenfield Stadium in Kathmandu.

The home side under Stephen Constantine could have won by a
bigger margin had the woodwork not denied them twice in the match.

India ran away victors in the third straight summit clash of
the SAFF Cup between the two sides and regained the title they had won in 2011.

The victory for 166th ranked India over higher ranked
Afghanistan (150th) gave Constantine his first win of an international
tournament after taking charge early last year for his second stint at the helm
of affairs in India.

SAFF Cup title triumph would also ease pressure on the
English coach under whom India lost five and won just one match in the 2018
World Cup qualifiers while going into the tournament.

India were playing in the 10th final out of 11 SAFF Cup
editions and re-established their dominance in the regional tournament and are
also likely to make a jump in the FIFA rankings.

A.B. Bardhan Veteran CPI leader passes away - 04 Jan 16

Highlights:

Veteran Communist Party of India leader A.B. Bardhan passed
away at the age of 92 after a long illness.

Mr. Bardhan was former general secretary of the CPI.

He had held the post of general secretary for over a record
number of years from 1996 to 2012.

Mr. Bardhan took part in the freedom movement as a member of
the All India Students Federation and later associated himself with the trade
union movement out of Nagpur.

He become general secretary of the All India Trade Union
Congress.

He won an election just once, to the Maharashtra Assembly,
in 1957 as an Independent.

After losing several elections, he moved to Delhi in the
1990s and got involved in national politics. When the United Front (UF)
government took over in 1996 and late CPI leader Indrajit Gupta became Home
Minister, he resigned as CPI general secretary and paved the way for Mr.
Bardhan.

Kochi Metro Rail (KMRL) get the first set of Made in India coaches - 04 Jan 16

Highlights:

Kochi Metro Rail (KMRL) has received the first set of Made
in India coaches five months ahead of schedule from Alstom Transport, the
rolling stock manufactures for the project.

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu flagged
off the first train at the
Alstom’s facility in Sricity Special Economic Zone in Tada in Andhra Pradesh.

According to a Kochi Metro release, the order for 25 train
set was placed in August 2014 and the French company delivered the first train
set in record time.

As per the contract, the company is responsible for the design,
manufacturing, supply, installation and commissioning of 25 standard track
gauge trains.

In his brief speech, Naidu urged the industry units to
create more employment in the region and made an appeal to take up projects
benefitting the locals.

Sri City SEZ is located 90 km from Chennai, stands as a true
manifestation of the Government’s Make in India campaign.

Alstom Transport is supplying the very first set of Made in
India coaches to Kochi Metro.

KMRL, in its effort make the Kochi Metro most modern and
user friendly has provided unique experience and comfort in the Kochi Metro
coach, differentiating it with any other metro system in India with the help of
Alstom and Tata Elxsi.

Each train will be fitted with two air conditioning units
per car to provide thermal comfort to the commuters.

This was for the first time a Metropolis train set was produced
at the Sri City SEZ. The 25 coaches would run on an elevated metro rail network
25 kms long and 22 stations across Kochi.

The line is expected to be open by end of 2016.

The unique design of Kochi Metro is that the front end
features LED lights that are in the shape of elephant’s tusk

The three-member Lodha panel has recommended sweeping
changes to the BCCI's administrative and governance structures.

It has submitted its report to the Supreme Court.

The recommendations presented to the Supreme Court, with
clear and stringent eligibility criteria for the board's office-bearers and
limits to their time in office, and run right through Indian cricket.

Other important changes suggested by the panel include
limited autonomy for the IPL governing council, the formation of a players'
association to be given highest representation at the board and the appointment
of three independent officials to look into the three contentious areas within
the BCCI - conflict of interest, dispute resolution and election processes.

The panel also suggested a shake-up in the BCCI's
composition, recommending that only one association from each state will be a
full member of the BCCI and have a right to vote.

Other members from a state, or those without territory or
competitive presence - e.g. Services, Railways, the Cricket Club of India,
National Cricket Club etc - will be relegated to associate status without
voting rights in the BCCI.

The panel also suggested an eligibility criteria for BCCI
office-bearers, including the president, secretary, vice-presidents, and
treasurer.

The criteria states that an eligible candidate: "must
not be above age of 70

He must not be insolvent, must not be a minister or a
government servant and must not have held office in the BCCI for a cumulative
period for nine years.

The panel recommended limiting the authority of the IPL
governing council.

It proposed a nine-member panel to handle the functioning of
the tournament, with representation from franchises, players and a nominee of
the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

The governing council of the IPL, would take all decisions
regarding the tournament, including the financial ones, and would be
accountable to the BCCI's general body.

Another suggestion was the appointment of a CEO to look into
the day-to-day running of the BCCI along with a team of six professional
managers; this group would be responsible to an apex council.

The panel suggested the appointment of three independent
officials - an ombudsman, an ethics officer and an election officer.

The scope of the ombudsman's role would be to preside over
the internal disputes resolution mechanism, and address disputes between the
BCCI and its members or associates; breaches by administrators, players, team
officials, and grievances concerning access to stadia, manipulation in ticket
distribution.

The panel suggested that the ombudsman should either be a
former judge of Supreme Court or a retired chief justice of High Court.

Incidentally, the BCCI had appointed Justice AP Shah, former
Chief Justice of the Delhi and Madras High Courts, as an ombudsman in November
to deal with conflict of interest cases within the BCCI.

The Lodha panel has suggested that a separate ethics officer
be brought in to deal with conflict of interest.

The ethics officer, a former High Court judge, would also
deal with misdemeanor, behavior, or corruption issues.

Lastly, an electoral officer would oversee the entire
process relating to the election of the BCCI office-bearers.

The officer would be nominated two weeks before an election
and would have to be a former Election Commissioner of India.

Another task set before the Lodha committee was to examine
the role of Sundar Raman, the former IPL chief operating officer, in the IPL
2013 scandal.

Raman was named as Individual 12 in the Mudgal report.

Raman stepped down from his position in November this year
and has been given a clean chit by the Lodha panel.

The panel - comprising retired Chief Justice of India, RM
Lodha, and retired Supreme Court judges, Ashok Bhan and R Raveendran - was
formed in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for Raj Kundra,
Gurunath Meiyappan and their respective franchises.

Themarkets regulator
SEBI is set to tighten disclosure norms for rating agencies as well as the
companies being rated.

It seeks to check the menace of 'rating shopping' and a
'pick-and choose' approach in disclosing rating actions.

The proposed regulatory moves follow the Amtek Auto fiasco
and a growing number of loan defaults triggering downgrade or suspension of
ratings without the same being properly communicated to investors.

It has been felt that the disclosure norms need to be
tightened to ensure that the credit rating agencies (CRAs) avoid any conflict
of interest while deciding and disclosing their rating actions.

SEBI has the mandate to regulate credit rating agencies in
the country.

It is finalizing a draft set of revised disclosure norms and
the same would be soon presented before its board.

What is SEBI ?

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulator for the securities market in India.

It was established in the year 1988 and given statutory powers on 12 April 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.

It has Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Regional Offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad respectively.

It has opened local offices at Jaipur and Bangalore and is planning to open offices at Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Kochi and Chandigarh in Financial Year 2013 - 2014.

The SEBI is managed by its members and consists :

The chairman who is nominated by Union Government of India.

Two members, i.e., Officers from Union Finance Ministry.

One member from the Reserve Bank of India.

The remaining five members are nominated by Union Government of India, out of them at least three shall be whole-time members.

The Central government has plans to scale up electrification of villages in
country to around 250 per day from 100-125 at present.

According to PM office,around 18,500 villages will be
electrified in 1,000 days.

Presently, the Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and
Renewable Energy is Piyush Goyal.

He was addressing the media after inaugurating a bio-CNG
(compressed natural gas) plant of the Mahindra and Mahindra group at the
Mahindra World City.

There are3,127 villages in very remote places will have to
be provided off-the-grid power or from small power stations located in
villages.

The bio-CNG plant uses kitchen-generated waste in the
Mahindra World City to generate biogas that is enriched to yield fuel-grade
CNG.

The plant uses around 10 tonne of kitchen waste to produce
biogas.

The plant generates four tonne organic fertiliser as a bio-product.

The technology demonstration plant can generate 1,000 m3 of
raw biogas per day, which in turn yields 400 kg purified CNG-grade fuel that
can power the group’s vehicles.

First River Information System on Ganga for safe navigation - 05 Jan 16

Highlights:

The ministry of shipping has launched a river information
system (RIS) on the line of air traffic control (ATC).

The aim is to avoid any collision and accidents of vessels
on inland waterway networks.

The system will also provide information on fairway
(waterway), metrology and river safety.

The first such system developed by the Inland Waterways
Authority of India (IWAI).

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will be
operational on the 500 km stretch of the Ganga between Haldia and Farakka.

This is part of National Waterway-1 and it will covers
Haldia to Allahabad.

Under this phase, the vessels also fitted with equipment
including radars, electronic chart system and echo sounders will be tracked
through the automatic identification (AIS) base stations installed at seven
sites along the stretch.

These sites are also equipped with very high frequency (VHF)
communication network that can be controlled remotely from the two control
stations.

The navigation and communication equipment have been
installed in 30 ships of IWAI and similar gadgets will also be put in cargo
barges of private and cruise operators.

Shipping ministry sources said installing such equipment
will be made mandatory for medium and big size vessels so that they can contact
with RIS.

This system has been implemented in different inland
waterway corridors of Europe, USA, China and South America.

The recent decisions to give priority to waterways to bring
down cost of transportation and reduce air pollution, they are hopeful of more
activities on the identified waterways.

Recently, Lok Sabha passed the bill to increase the number
of National Waterways to 111.

He was appointed by
President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

Mr. Mathur will have tenure of about three years and till he
attains the age of 65 years.

The Central Information Commission has been headless twice
since the BJP government came to power in 2014.

Earlier, it was without a chief for nearly 10 months after
the completion of the tenure of the then-CIC, Rajiv Mathur, in August, 2014.

It again fell vacant a month back following the retirement
of Vijai Sharma.

What is CIC ?

The Central Information Commission (CIC) set up under the Right to Information Act is the authorised body, established in 2005.

The Commission includes 1 Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and not more than 10 Information Commissioners (IC) who are appointed by the President of India.

Central Information Commission to be constituted by the Central Government through a Gazette Notification.

Oath of Office will be administered by the President of India according to the form set out in the First Schedule.

Commission shall have its Headquarters in Delhi.

Other offices may be established in other parts of the country with the approval of the Central Government.

Commission will exercise its powers without being subjected to directions by any other authority. Candidates for CIC/IC must be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance.

CIC/IC shall not be a Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislature of any State or Union Territory. He shall not hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.

Appointment Committee includes Prime Minister (Chair), Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and one Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister. CIC shall be appointed for a term of 5 years from date on which he enters upon his office or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Salary will be the same as that of the Chief Election Commissioner.

The powers and functions of Information Commissions:

The Central Information Commission/State Information Commission has a duty to receive complaints from any person -

I) who has not been able to submit an information request because a PIO has not been appointed ;

II)who has been refused information that was requested;

III) who has received no response to his/her information request within the specified time limits ;

IV) who thinks the fees charged are unreasonable ;

V)who thinks information given is incomplete or false or misleading ;and

VI) any other matter relating to obtaining information under this law.

RBI imposes Rs 1 crore fine on State Bank of Travancore - 05 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had imposed a Rs 1 crore
penalty on State Bank of Travancore for violation of its instructions.

This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank and its customers.The monetary penalty has been imposed for violation of its instructions including reporting of data to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC).

RBI set up CRILC to collect, store, and disseminate data on all borrowers’ credit exposures.

Banks are required to report all such information here, including classification of an account as SMA (Special Mention Accounts), on all borrowers having aggregate fund-based and non-fund-based exposure of Rs. 5 crore and above.

RBI had issued a show cause notice to the bank for not having complied with the directions issued by the bank on submission of accurate data to the CRILC.

Foreign brokerage HSBC peged , India is in the midst of a
“credit-less” recovery and policy reforms are the main way ahead to achieve
higher growth.

It estimated that the economy would clock a 7.4 % growth in
FY-2016, and it would remain stable at the same level in FY-2017 as well.

The current experience of the recovery resembles the
well-documented ‘credit-less’ recovery phenomenon.

During such phases, sectors such as investment, that rely
more on external funding, take the longest to revive.

The over-capacity in multiple sectors, coupled with banks
being saddled with bad loans, is adversely affecting new investment projects.

It may be noted that credit growth hovering at higher single
digit-figure is one of the slowest in a decade.

Reforms ultimately continue to be the main driver of higher
potential growth for the medium term. In 2016, the government to focus on a few
important but relatively non-controversial pieces of legislation such as the
GST, Bankruptcy Code and RBI Amendment Bills.

The report also does not expect the government to go in for
any contentious reforms on the land and labour fronts, as it lacks enough
numbers.

The main challenge on the macro side would include meeting
three competing objectives of simultaneously funding higher wages, continuing
government capex and lowering fiscal deficit.

The government needs funds equivalent to 0.8 % of GDP
through avenues like reducing government stakes across public sector
enterprises and gains from food subsidy rationalisation.

The strengthening El Nino can adversely impact the rainfall,
and a decline in government spending is
the key downside risk to growth and inflation forecasts.

The Rs 5,000 crore Stand Up India CGF will stand guarantee
for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore loans to be provided to least 2.5 lakh SC/ST and
women.

The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
cleared creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA loans.

It also gave its nod to convert MUDRA Ltd, a pet venture of
the Centre for funding small businesses, into MUDRA-SIDBI Bank, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The government had last year set up MUDRA Ltd as a non-
banking finance company (NBFC).

Under the ‘Stand Up India’ scheme, banks will give loans at
the “least applicable rate” of interest.

Every bank branch, including private sector, will give loans
between Rs 10 lakh and 1 crore to at least one SC/ST and one woman entrepreneur
under the scheme.

Stand Up India scheme likely to be launched along with Start
up India scheme on January 16,2016.

It will be implemented through 1.25 lakh bank branches.

MUDRA scheme which was launched in April 2015 has already
extended loans worth Rs 72,000 crore to 1.73 lakh beneficiaries and the target
for the entire fiscal is Rs 1.22 lakh crore.

The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC)
would be the Trustee for both the CGFs of MUDRA as well as Stand Up India.

Under the Stand up India scheme, it is expected that the
target of at least 2.5 lakh approvals will be met in 3 years from the launch of
the scheme.

The scheme will handhold borrowers both at the pre-loan
stage and during operations.

The overall intent of the scheme is to leverage the
institutional credit structure to reach out to under-served segments of the
society by facilitating bank loans repayable up to 7 years for greenfield
enterprises in the non-farm sector.

Under the Scheme, the margin money would be up to 25 %,
while remaining would be funded by the bank.

The ‘Start up India, Stand up India’ initiatives were
announced by Modi in his Independence Day speech.

The Credit Guarantee Fund is expected to guarantee more than
Rs 1 lakh crore worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance.

It will help in reducing risk taken by banks and financial
institutions in case of default under the scheme.

Three products available under the PM MUDRA Yojana are
Shishu, Kishor and Tarun to signify the stage of growth and funding needs of
the beneficiary micro unit or entrepreneur.

Taxes worth Rs 2,428 crore have been recovered from these
disclosures.

The Central Government approves MoU with Bangladesh to set up border haats - 06 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Union Government has approved an Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh to set up border haats.

The Border Haats will promote the well-being of the people
dwelling in remote areas across the borders of the two countries, by
establishing traditional system of marketing the local produce through local
markets in local currency or barter basis.

The "ex-post-facto approval" for the MoU was given
by the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The approval was given for "MoU and Mode of Operation
of Border Haats signed on 23.10.2010 with Bangladesh for setting up Border
Haats on India-Bangladesh Border.

The approval was also given to modify/revise the terms and
condition of the above MoU/addendum in consultation with relevant state governments/central
government agencies and Government of Bangladesh.

During a visit of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
to India in January 2010, it was agreed that border haats shall be established
on a pilot basis at selected area.

It has included on the Meghalaya border, to allow trade in
specified products and in accordance with the regulations agreed and notified
by both the governments.

In order to implement the same, an MoU and the Mode of
operation of Border Haats across the border between Bangladesh and lndia was
signed on 23rd October 2010.

Subsequently, an addendum to Mode of operation of border
haats across the border between Bangladesh and India was also signed on May 15,
2012.

In addition, both the government agreed to further establish
two border haats in Tripura and four in Meghalaya on the Bangladesh border.

Andhra Bank launches IMPS for money transfer - 06 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Public sector Andhra Bank has launched Immediate Payment
Service (IMPS) at all its branches across the country.

The main aim is to provide inter-bank electronic fund
transfer service.

The customer-friendly service was launched by Andhra Bank in
association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

It also supports real time instant fund transfer system for
inter-bank remittances.

However the maximum
caps of transaction of remittances will 2 lakh rupees and the charges will be
at the rate of Rs.5 per transaction.

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) IMPS is a multi-channel,
multi-dimensional inter-bank electronic fund transfer platform that allows
customers to transfer money electronically within fraction of seconds with all
the standards and integrity maintained for security.

It is round-the-clock real time instant fund transfer system
which is not possible in National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system.

The Central government has approved drought assistance of Rs
815 crore Odisha from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).

The assistance was approved at the High Level Committee
meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi.

The Committee examined Odisha's memoranda seeking an
assistance of Rs 2199 crore to tackle drought situation in the state.

The committee also examined the report of the Central Team
which visited the affected areas in the drought.

The state government had earlier submitted two memoranda with
the Centre seeking Rs 2199 crore as standing crops over 13.41 lakh hectare in
215 blocks of 26 districts sustained crop loss of 33 % and more.

The Centre should re-consider the amount of drought
assistance approved by the High Level Committee.

The state government has already sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore
from its own resources for drought mitigation.

The government of India to skip BS-V, leapfrog to BS-VI norms from April 1, 2020 - 07 Jan 16

Highlights:

The government has decided to implement stricter emission
norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020 by skipping BS-V altogether.

The main aim is to curb vehicular pollution in the country.

At present, BS IV norms are followed in parts of India and
by April 1, 2017, the whole of the country is scheduled to be covered under it.

The decision to leapfrog to BS-VI was taken at an inter-
ministerial meeting chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari.

The Government has decided to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI
directly by April 1, 2020.

Indian refiners will need to make investments to the tune of
Rs 30,000 crore in order to supply BS VI compliant fuels.

Earlier, a government-commissioned panel had earlier
suggested implementing BS VI norms from 2024 but in the larger interest it has
been decided to advance the dates.

Automobile industry body SIAM has been opposing the skipping
of BS V to jump to BS VI.

The development comes at a time when air pollution,
especially in the Capital, has become a major issue.

Delhi is currently observing odd-even scheme, Supreme Court
has cracked down on diesel vehicles by banning registration of diesel cars and
SUVs with engines above 2,000 cc.

It would soon issue a notification to move to BS VI, while
withdrawing its earlier notification in November to advance dates for
implementation of BS-V norms to April 1, 2019 and BS-VI norms to April 1, 2021.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has
died at AIIMS after his platelets dropped dangerously.

He was 79 year old.

He was a crafty politician who took on the powerful Abdullah
family and rose to become the country's first Muslim home minister.

Mr.Sayeed had taken
charge of the state on March 1 last year heading a PDP-BJP alliance.

He is the second J&K chief minister to die in office,
the first one being Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who died on September 8, 1982.

Mr.Sayeed's daughter 56-year-old Mehbooba is expected to take
over as the first woman chief minister of the state with PDP leaders throwing
their weight behind her.

Mr.Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on
March 1 last year.

In the 87-member J and K assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP
25 while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12.

He had a political career spanning nearly six decades.

Brief History:

He was born in Baba Mohalla of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on January 12, 1936.

Mr.Sayeed had his early education at a local school and graduated from S P College, Srinagar.

He had obtain a law degree and Master's degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University.

Mr.Sayeed's stint in the home ministry, at a time when
militancy had begun to rear its ugly head in his home state, would, however, be
most remembered for the kidnapping of his third daughter Rubaiya by JKLF.

The militants demanded freeing five of their comrades in
exchange for Rubaiya's freedom and let her off only after their demand had been
met.

Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kadmatt has been
commission in the Indian Navy at naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam.

It is the second ship of Project 28 (P28) class ASW
corvettes.

It is also the latest ship after Shivalik class, Kolkata
class and INS Kamorta.

INS Kadmatt is about 90 % indigenously designed by the
Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and constructed by M/s Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd.

The stealth anti-submarine warfare has been named after one
of the large islands amongst the group of islands in Lakshadweep off the west
coast of India.

It has 109 meters in length and 14 meters at the beam.

It is propelled by 4 diesel engines to achieve speeds of 25
knots with an endurance of 3450 nautical and with a displacement of 3500 tonnes.

It provides a contemporary and process oriented System of
Systems for optimal functioning of the warship.

It comprises Total Integrated Platform Management System
(IPMS), Atmospheric Control System (TACS), Battle Damage Control System (BDCS),
Personnel Locator System (PLS) and Integrated Bridge System (IBS).

It has a low radio, magnetic, acoustic and Infra-red (IR)
signature owing to a ‘X’ shaped hull form.

It also has an IR suppression system which reduces the heat
emitted by the ship reducing the infrared signature thereby defending the ship
from heat seeking missiles.

The Union Cabinet has approved creation of a Credit
Guarantee Fund (CGF) for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA)
loans.

The CGF is expected to guarantee more than 1,00,000 crore
rupees worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance.

Features of scheme Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units
(CGFMU) will guarantee loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
(PMMY) to reduce the credit risk to Banks and other financial intermediaries
who are Member Lending Institutions (MLIs).

National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company NCGTC Ltdwill manageandoperatevariouscreditguaranteefunds and shallbetheTrusteeofthe NCFTC will be a
wholly-ownedcompanyofUnion Governmentand shall be
constitutedundertheCompaniesAct, 1956 (2013).

Under this scheme the guaranteewouldbeprovidedonportfoliobasistoamaximumextent of50 %ofAmountinDefaultinthe
MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank Cabinet also gave its nod for converting MUDRA Ltd. into
MUDRA Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Bank, a wholly owned
subsidiary of SIDBI. The MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank will undertake refinance operations
and provide support services with focus on portal management and also data
analysis etc.

Background In the Union Budgetspeech for 2015-16, Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley had proposed to set up MUDRA Bank and CGF witha refinance corpus of 20,000 crore rupees and
a corpus of 3,000 crorerupees
respectively.

MUDRA Ltd. was set up as a corporate subsidiary of SIDBI in
March 2015 prior to the launch of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) in
April 2015.

India is getting ready to open up commercial coal mining to
private companies for the first time in four decades.

Its aim is to shift the world's third-biggest coal importer
towards energy self-sufficiency.

The government has identified mines it plans to auction, and
is now finalising other terms such as eligibility criteria for companies to
take part and whether and how to set up revenue sharing.

India has an ambitious plan to double its coal production to
1.5 billion tonnes a year by 2020.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to bring power to 300
million people live without electricity, and give a boost to manufacturing.

State-owned Coal India is on track to produce 1 billion
tonnes a year by the end of this decade.

India is counting on private firms to produce the remaining
500 million tones - which may prove a tough target to achieve.

As of now, only Coal India and a small government-owned
company are allowed to mine and sell coal in India.

to attract coal block bids from Indian conglomerates such as
the Adani Group and GVK, but the government may find it harder to lure big
multinational miners such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and
Peabody Energy. Rio Tinto did not respond to requests for comment.

Until last year, India spent around $16 billion a year
importing foreign coal, even though it sits on the world's fifth-biggest
reserves of more than 300 billion tonnes.

Companies can do that by selling coal to their units at
discounted rates, and by calculating the government's share based on that
instead of the market price.

Swarup declined to say where the identified mines were
located. Most of India's coal is in the eastern states of Jharkhand, Odisha and
Chhattisgarh.

Labour ministry notifies amendments to Payment of Bonus Act

Bandaru Dattatreya-led labour ministry has notified
amendments to the Payment of Bonus Act that seeks to make more workers eligible
for bonus by raising the pay eligibility limit of employees to Rs 21,000 per
month from Rs 10,000.

Consequent upon this, even the monthly bonus calculation
ceiling has been doubles to Rs 7,000 per month from Rs 3,500, thus
substantially increasing the amount of bonus.

The move is in line with the demands of 10 central trade
unions, which had observed a day-long strike on September 22.

The amendments to the Payment of Bonus Act was approved by
the Parliament in the just concluded winter session.

The Payment of Bonus Act 1965 is applicable to every factory
and other establishment in which 20 or more people are employed on any day
during an accounting year.

The revised Act will also provides for a new proviso in
Section 12, which empowers the central government to vary the basis of
computing the bonus.

Raghuram Rajan won Central Banker of the Year award for 2016 by 'The Banker' - 08 Jan 16

Highlights:

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has been
felicitated with the Central Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia Pacific)
for 2016 by The Banker, the Financial Times Group's monthly publication.

The award has been bestowed upon him by the The Banker, a
monthly publication of Financial Times Group.

This award celebrates the officials and bankers who have
best managed to stimulate growth and stabilise their country’s economy.

Brief History:

Rajan Raghuram Rajan is incumbent and 23 Governor of RBI and
had taken charge in September 2013.

Prior to becoming RBI Governor, he was
chief economic adviser (CEA) to Union Ministry of Finance in 2013.

He was chief economist at the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) from 2003 to 2007.

He also was professor of finance at the graduate business
school at the University of Chicago.

He is also a celebrity economist known across the globe for
predicting the 2008 global meltdown. He has authored many books on economics.

Earlier, in January last year, British magazine Central
Banking, named Rajan as the ‘Governor of the Year’.

In October, 2014, Rajan was conferred with the Best Central
Bank Governor award for 2014 by Euromoney magazine

Former IAS Devender Kumar Sikri has appointed as Chairman of Competition Commission of India
(CCI) by Union Government .

He will succeed Ashok Chawla whose tenure ended as the
Chairman of CCI.

He will have tenure of two and half years i.e. till he
attains the age of 65 years.

DK Sikri is an IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre.

However, his appointment to this post came under mild
controversy as he was number two in the list recommended by the selection
panel.

DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant was the top name recommended for
the CCI chairman’s post. A few days earlier, Kant was named as the CEO of Niti
Aayog.

Brief History:

Sikri Devender Kumar Sikri is a former IAS officer of
Gujarat cadre. He has held various positions in his cadre state Gujarat as well
as in Centre.

He was superannuated as Secretary, Department of Justice in
July 2013.

He had also served as Secretary in the Union Ministry of Women and
Child Development, and Registrar General of Census (RGC).

What is Competition
Commission of India (CCI) ?

Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a body of the
Government of India responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002
throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on
competition in India.

The CCI was established to eliminate practices that
adversely affect competition in different industries and protect interests of
consumers and ensure freedom of trade.

It is statutory body established under The Competition Act
of 2002.

It was established in 2003 and became fully functional in
2009. Its predecessor was the MRTPC (Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices
Commission) which was functional prior to 1991 Economic Reforms.

The CCI acts as a quasi-judicial body which gives opinions
to statutory authorities and also deals with other cases.

Governor’s rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir - 08 Jan 16

Highlights:

For sixth time Governor’s rule has been imposed in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir (J&K) as the process of formation new government.

It was happened following the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is taking some
time.

It was imposed after President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the
recommendations forwarded by Union Home Ministry on the basis of a
recommendation from J&K Governor NN Vohra.

Governor’s Rule in Jammu & Kashmir In case of failure of
constitutional machinery in any other state of India, the President’s Rule is
imposed under Article 356 of the Constitution.

But in case of J&K, as per Section 92 of state
Constitution, the Governor’s Rule can be imposed for a period of six months in
the state.

Thus, there is little practical difference between the two
provisions. Governor’s Rule can be imposed only after the consent of the
President of India in case of failure of constitutional machinery.

During the Governors rule, State Assembly is either
suspended or dissolved and the state completely comes under direct Central
rule.

If the Constitutional machinery in the state is not restored
before the expiry of this six month period, the provisions of Article 356 of
the Constitution of India are extended to J&K and the President’s rule is
imposed in the State.

Government reappoints Urjit Patel as Deputy Governor of RBI for a second term - 09 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Union Government
has reappointed Dr Urjit Patel as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) for a second three-year term.

He has two decades of rich experience across
sectors including financial, energy and infrastructure sectors.

He had received his doctorate in Economics from Yale
University in 1990 and is a graduate of the University of London and Oxford.

Between 1990 and 1995, he has worked with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) covering the India, US, Bahamas and Myanmar desks of it.

He was appointed as the Deputy Governor of
RBI in January 2013 for three year term.

He had headed committee to review the
monetary policy framework and had proposed monetary policy committee to set
interest rates (currently solely decided by the RBI governor).

He had worked closely with several
central and state government high level committees such as, Task Force on Direct
Taxes (TFDT), Advisory Committee (on Research Projects and Market Studies) and
Competition Commission of India (CCI) etc.

Other three Deputy Governors of RBI are:R. Khan,
S.S. Mundra and R. Gandhi.

Recently, Ministry of Environment of Tami Nadu has allowed Jallikattu sports in that state.

Earlier, Ministry of Environment of Tami Nadu has exempted the sport from
performances for which the bulls should not be used.

This sport is associated with Tamil Nadu state.

Jallikattu is a bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a
part of the Pongal celebrations.

Bulls are bred specifically for the sporting event and a
specific breed of cattle is bred for this purpose.

The Supreme Court had imposed a ban on this sport in 2014
citing several issues associated with animal welfare.

The Supreme Court had in May 2014 upheld a 2011 notification
by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) to include bulls in the
category of animals that shall not be used as performing animals, meaning that
bulls could not be exhibited or trained as performing animals for Jallikattu
events.

The present notification by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests clears the ground for Jallikattu events by making an exception for
these and some other traditional bull-related events in other parts of India.

It was the first limited or shortened edition of Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas

Last year, the government had decided to hold larger version
of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) after every two years and that limited version
of the event will be organised in the intervening year.

The 13th edition of PBD was held in Gandhinagar (Gujarat)
last year.

It was also the first time that the event was organised by
the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) in the wake of government’s decision to
merge Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with it.

PBD was observed on 9
January as it is chosen as the day for as it was on this day in 1915 that
Mahatma Gandhi, the “greatest Pravasi”, returned to India from South Africa and
led India’s freedom struggle.

The event has been held annually since 2003.

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was approved by Prime Minister - 09 Jan 16

Highlights:

Recently,Prime Minister Narendra Modi was approved the merge of the Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The main objective of creating the Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs (MOIA)is to improve engagement with the Indian diaspora.

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was established in May
2004.

Its earlier name was the Ministry of Non-Resident Indians’
Affairs.

It was renamed as the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
(MOIA) in September 2004.

The primary task of the MOIA was to connect the Indian
diaspora with its motherland.

The MOIA initiated various programmes focusing on developing
networks with and amongst the overseas Indians with the intent of building
partnership with the diaspora.

But it was merged with MEA in sync with Union Government’s
broad principle of minimum government, maximum governance.

IT was also released that substantial work of MOIA is done
through Indian missions abroad.

The 43rd edition of New Delhi World Book Fair held in New Delhi - 10 Jan 16

Highlights:

The 43rd edition of New Delhi World Book Fair commenced from
9 January 2016 at New Delhi’s sprawling Pragati Maidan.

Which country is participating in this fair as the guest of
honour country? – China

The nine-day fair, touted as

It is the largest Book Fair in Asia and hosting about 30
countries in the fair.

China is participating the guest of honour country.

The theme presentation of the fair is “Cultural Heritage of
India”.

This Book Fair was inaugurated on 9 January by Human
Resource Minister Smriti Irani.

China was invited to be the guest country after the visit of
Chinese President Xi Jinping here last year where he signed a memorandum of
understanding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Scientistsof the
Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) have successfully produced a
cloned buffalo offspring named ‘Cirb Gaurav’.

The Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) is
located in Hisar, Haryana.

CIRB scientists have achieved this feat under the project
entitled- Cloning for conservation and multiplication of superior buffalo
germplasm.

Cirb Gaurav cloned buffalo calf is distinct from the earlier
clones produced in India.

It has been produced from cells of ventral side of tail of
superior bull buffalo.

The ventral side of tail was chosen because it is least
exposed to sunlight and might have less mutation rate.

This part also can be a good choice to produce healthy
clones by isolating donor cells.

Now,CIRB becomes the India’s second and world’s third
institute to produce cloned buffalo.

Earlier, Karnal (Haryana) based National Dairy Research
Institute (NDRI) was the India’s first institute to produce a cloned calf.

Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, the founder the non-banking finance company PACL Limited was arrested by the CBI - 10 Jan 16

Highlights:

The founder of the scam ridden non-banking finance company
PACL Limited Nirmal Singh Bhangoo was arrested by sleuths of the CBI.

He was arrested for cheating investors over Rs. 45,000 crore.

The arrest of Nirmal Singh Bhangoo came 17 months after
markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) ordered
PACL to return money to millions of investors, saying the company was running
an illegal investment scheme.

The scheme promised depositors returns on investments in
agricultural land.

The case involves alleged collection of about Rs. 45,000
crore from roughly 55 million investors across the country, making it the
biggest financial scandal.

ICICI Bank is an Indian multinational banking and financial
services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, with its
registered office in Vadodara.

In 2014, it was the second largest bank in India in terms of
assets and third in term of market capitalisation.

Presently its CEO is Chanda Kochhar.

It’s headquarters is located at Mumbai.

The founder was Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation
of India.

The bankwas founded
in June 1994,Vadodara.

Globe-Award-2016 :‘The Revenant’,the American movie won the top honours including Best Movie - 11 Jan 16

Highlights:

The American movie ‘The Revenant’ won the top
honours including Best Movie, Best Director and Best Actor at the 73rd Golden
Globe Awards ceremony.

The Revenant is an American biographical movie set in 1823
Montana and South Dakota.

It earned Globes for best motion picture, best actor
(Leonardo DiCaprio) and Best Director (Alejandro Inarritu).

DiCaprio beat out Bryan Cranston of ‘Trumbo’, Michael Fassbender
of ‘Steve Jobs’, Eddie Redmayne of ‘The Danish Girl’, and Will Smith of
‘Concussion’.

Actors Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Sylvester Stallone and Jon
Hamm were the other winners at the 2016 Globe Awards.

Winslet walked away with the golden trophy in the supporting
actress category for her role in biopic ‘Steve Jobs’. Brie Larson won the
Golden Globe in best actress award in a motion picture-drama category for her
role in ‘Room’.

Stallone won the best supporting actor in a motion picture
trophy for his role in ‘Creed’. Damon won the best actor trophy in a musical or
comedy category for his role in ‘The Martian’.

Globe Awards are often seen as the precursor to the Academy
Awards (Oscars) and the winners are seen as the major contenders for the
Oscars.

Eminent British artist David Bowie passed away - 11 Jan 16

Highlights:

British artist David Bowie who passed away on 10 January
2016 at the age of 69.

He was associated with the field of Singing.

The 69-year old David Bowie was primarily a singer but was
also known as an accomplished songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer,
arranger, painter and actor.

He was a figure in popular music for over four decades, and
was known as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s.

He has sold an estimated 140 million records worldwide.

Bowie’s breakthrough came with 1972’s ‘The Rise and Fall of
Ziggy Stardust’ and the ‘Spiders From Mars’.

His last live performance was at a New York charity concert
in 2006.

Telangana becomes first State to make gender education compulsory at graduate level - 11 Jan 16

Highlights:

Telangana has become the first State in the country to
introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level.

In this regard,state government has introduced bilingual
textbook titled ‘Towards a World of Equals’ on a pilot basis in engineering
colleges.

These engineering colleges are affiliated to the Jawaharlal
Nehru Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad).

Features of gender education textbook Discusses gender in
its composite form without limiting itself to crime against women without
repeating gender stereotypes.

Touches upon complex subjects like male-female relationships
and female-centric history.

He has earned this title of world’s best football player for
record fifth time.

Earlier he was conferred with this award in 2010
(inaugural), 2011, 2012 and 2012.

For this edition of prize, Messi secured 41.33% of the votes
pipped current holder and three-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo (27.76% votes),
as well as his Barclona teammate Neymar (7.86% votes).

Other 2015 winners FIFA
Women’s World Player of the Year: Carli Lloyd (United States) FIFA Puskás
Award: Wendell Lira. World Coach of the Year (Men’s): Luis Enrique (Barcelona
FC). World Coach of the Year (Women’s): Jill Ellis (United Staes).

FIFA Fair
Play Award: All football organisations supporting refugees

What is FIFA Ballon
d’Or Award ?

It is an annual football association award given by FIFA to
the male player who has performed the best in the previous calendar year.

This award was instituted in 2010 after France Football’s
Ballon d’Or and the men’s FIFA World Player of the Year award were merged.

It is awarded to the male player, based upon highest votes
secured by him from national team coaches and captains, as well as journalists
from around the world.

India's largest Insurance company Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) launched “Jeevan Shikhar".

Jeevan Shikhar is the
name of a closed-ended plan which has been offered for sale by LIC from 11
January,2016.

It will be available for sale till 31 March 2016.

It is a non-linked, with profits, single premium plan,
wherein the risk-cover is 10 times of tabular single premium providing a
combination of savings and risk cover.

Under this plan, the proposer/life assured will have an
option to choose the maturity sum assured, and the single premium payable will
depend on the chosen amount of maturity sum assured and the age of the assured.

The plan is available from ages six to 45 years.

Lt General JFR Jacob passed away on 13 January 2016 - 13 Jan 16

Highlights:

Lt General JFR Jacob passed away on 13 January 2016 at the
age of 92.

He was an Indian war hero associated with 1971 Indo-Pak War.

Lt General Jacob-Farj-Rafael or JFR Jacob was the Chief of
Staff of the Eastern Command during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

He had played a
pivotal role in defining the Indian Army’s strategy during the course of
operations.

He came to be known as one of the architects of the 1971 war
which resulted in creation of Bangladesh.

In the 1971 war, he designed a “war of movement” plan where
the Indian Army bypassed intermediary towns which had been fortified by the
Pakistan Army.

His goal was to neutralise Pakistan’s command and control
infrastructure and use secondary routes to enter Dhaka.

Indian cricketer Barinder Singh Sran made a memorable
international ODI debut against Australia.

He has taken 3 wickets in the first ODI match that was
played at WACA Ground in Perth on 12 January 2016.

The left-handed fast bowler has made a fabulous one-day
international (ODI) debut for India on 12 January 2016.

He took scalps of three top class batsmen in the form of
David Miller, Aaron Finch and Australian skipper Steve Smith.

It was the first match of the ODI series between India and
Australia and was played at Perth’s WACA Ground.

However, his fabulous bowling figure of 3-59 could not save
India from defeat as Australia successfully chased the Indian score of 309 for
3 with the help of centuries from Steve Smith and George Bailey.

Rohit Sharma’s 171 not out also went in vain.

This was the
highest successful run-chase at the WACA.

P.K. Sinha will head the committee to devise a process for the implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) - 13 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Union cabinet on 13 January 2016 approved setting up of
an empowered committee of secretaries to devise a process for the
implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations.

P.K. Sinha, Cabinet Secretary will head this committee.

The 7th CPC, in its report released on 19 November 2016, had
proposed a 23.55% increase in emoluments for 4.7 million government employees
and 5.2 million pensioners, potentially providing an impetus to the consumer
economy.

The Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by P.K. Sinha
will function as a screening committee to process the recommendations with
regard to all relevant factors of the Pay Commission.

Agriculture-Insurance-2016: The new crop insurance scheme was approved by the Union Govt - 13 Jan 16

Highlights:

The new crop insurance scheme was approved by the Union
Govt. on 13 January 2016.

It seeks to include successful aspects of the existing ones
while effectively addressing their deficiencies.

The name of the insurance scheme is Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojna (PMFBY).

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) is the name of the
revamped crop insurance scheme.

It was announced by the Union Govt. on the eve of harvest
festivals across the country on 13 January.

It will replace the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme
(NAIS) and Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).

PMFBY seeks to substantially reduce the premium paid by
farmers-1.5% on Rabi crops, 2% on Kharif crops and 5% on
commercial/horticultural crops, and reduce delays and leakages in payment of
compensation through direct transfers into the bank accounts of farmers.

This is expected to drive up enrolment under the scheme.

Under the previous crop insurance scheme, risks were only
partially covered.

The existing premium rates vary between 2.5% and 3.5% for
Kharif crops and 1.5% for Rabi crops-but the coverage was capped, meaning
farmers could, at best, recover a fraction of their losses.

Also, the premium for commercial and horticulture crops was
calculated on actuarial basis, meaning premiums could be as high as 25%
depending on the risk factor involved.

The Centre and States will equally share the estimated
expenditure of Rs. 8,000 crore as premium for PMFBY.

At present, Centre pays about Rs. 3,000 crore as premium.

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis broke the 22-year-old world record by winning their 29th women’s doubles match in a row. - 14 Jan 16

Highlights:

India’s Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis on
14 January 2016 broke a 22-year-old world record by winning their 29th women’s
doubles match in a row.

This feat was achieved en route to their entry into the
women’s doubles final of the WTA Sydney International, in Sydney.

The World No. 1 pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis broke
the 22-year old record of Natasha Zvereva and Gigi Fernandez after winning
against Romanian Raluca Olaru and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova by 4-6, 6-3,
10-8 in a closely-fought semifinal on 14 January.

Natasha Zvereva and Gigi Fernandez had made this record in
1994 when they continued their winning spree for 28 matches.

The Indo-Swiss pair has continued their good show from 2015
when they won 9 titles which included the Wimbledon, US Open and the
year-ending WTA finals.

Internet-Explorer-2016: Microsoft Corp. came out with major announcement with regard to its Internet browser application ‘Internet Explorer’ (IE) - 14 Jan 16

Highlights:

Microsoft Corp. came out with major announcement with
regard to its Internet browser application ‘Internet Explorer’ (IE) .

It officially closed the support for IE 8, 9, and 10 from
the date of 12 January.

End of support means there will be no more security updates,
non-security updates, free or paid assisted support options, or online
technical content updates.

Use of these older versions of Internet Explorer has been in
decline for years.

These older versions of IE will of course still be useable,
but after 12 January, they will receive no support from Microsoft.

Microsoft has advised Internet Explorer users to upgrade to
either Internet Explorer 11, or to the still relatively new Edge browser.

Internet Explorer had been the most popular web browser till
some years ago but Google’s ‘Chrome’ slowly changed IE’s domination. Mozilla,
Opera and a host of other new browsers also dented IE’s authority.

Wealth-Management-Services has been launched by SBI - 14 Jan 16

Highlights:

State Bank of India (SBI) became the first public sector bank to launch wealth management services.

SBI launched its wealth management service called ‘SBI Exclusif’ on 14 January 2016 at Bengaluru. This service will be open to customers with a wealth base of Rs.30 lakh, which may be relaxed to Rs.10-15 lakh if the bank feels the customer has the potential for scaling up wealth.

Non-resident Indians will be tapped as well.

‘SBI Exclusif’ customers will have access to a dedicated relationship manager and a service manager, supported by a team of investment experts.

SBI also differentiated its wealth management services from its private sector peers by linking performance incentives for its relationship managers to satisfaction of customers and the maximization of their wealth.

Bank also claimed that its home loan is growing at about 25%
on a year-on-year basis.

The bank’s average ticket size for home loans is at
aboutRs.35-36 lakh.

ICICI bank also
launched ‘Express Home Loans’ – a web-based portal that allows prospective
customers to upload know your customer (KYC) and income documents to receive a
final approval on their home loan applications within eight working hours.

“SBI-InCube” is the SBI’s first specialized for catering to the financial needs of start-ups - 14 Jan 16

Highlights:

‘SBI InCube’ is the name given to SBI’s first specialized
for catering to the financial needs of start-ups.

It was opened on 14
January 2016 in Bengaluru.

‘SBI InCube’ is the name of the first of the proposed series
of branches that will cater to the specific financial needs of start-ups in the
country.

First ‘SBI InCube’
branch was opened on 14 January at St. Mark’s Road in Bengaluru.

The branch will assist start-ups in cash management,
taxation, regulations, foreign exchange and remittances, mentoring, and other
financial services’ needs.

However, InCube, in its current form, will not fund
start-ups.

SBI has tied up with investors like chairman of Manipal
Global Education Services and Aarin Capital T.V. Mohandas Pai, co-founder and
ex-chief executive of Infosys Ltd Nandan Nilekani and software product think
tank iSpirt to help mentor and connect start-ups.

It has been incorporated with HEAT (High
explosive anti-tank) warhead also the top-attack all-weather fire-and-forget
system capable of destroying modern tanks with armoured protection by
nullifying their ERA (explosive reactive armour).

Indian Army Day is observed on January 15 - 15 Jan 16

Highlights:

Indian Army Day is being observed every year on 15 January
in India.

This year it will be the 68th Indian Army Day.

On this day in 1949, Lt. General (later
Field Marshal) Kodandera Madappa Cariappa became the first Indian
Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army (of the independent India) by succeeding
British Army General Roy Butcher (last British Commander-in-Chief of India.).

This day inspires the troops to continue to enrich the
glorious traditions of the Indian Army with their dedication and sacrifice.

It is celebrated every year at all the Army Command
headquarters and national capital by organizing army parades including many
other military shows.

Army Day marks a day to salute the valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country and the people living in it.

Three retired Supreme Court judges, a former high court
chief justice, one ex-UGC member and an information commissioner are among 16
persons are in the fray for the chairmanship of proposed anti-corruption body
lokpal.

The list, made public by department of personnel and
training (DoPT) after an order of information commissioner Sudhir Bhargava on
the plea of Subhash Agrawal, shows the SC had nominated Justices Gyan Sudha
Mishra, C K Prasad and Balbir Singh Chauhan, who have now retired, for the
position.

Retired Chief Justice of Jharkhand HC M Karpaga Vinayagam,
who is chairman, appellate tribunal for electricity, former UGC member and
former information commissioner M M Ansari, information commissioner Sridhar
Acharyulu are among those who have applied for the post.

In his directive, Bhargava had said the disclosure would
enhance transparency and public confidence in the selection process.

DoPT had sought applications for one post of chairman and
eight positions — four each for judicial and non-judicial members — in the
anti-graft body on January 17, 2014. In response, 380 persons have applied for
the post of non-judicial members which include former chief secretary J&K
Ghulam Nabi Lone, former CIC Satyananda Mishra, former Delhi police
commissioner Neeraj Kumar and former CBI special director K Saleem Ali, among
others.

The government is working to make it easy for budding
entrepreneurs to start a business or exit from it.

There is no inspection will be done for three years of
startup businesses in respect of labour, environment law compliance post
self-certification.

He also announced the establishment of Atal Innovation
Mission to give impetus to innovation and encourage the talent among people.

Juvenile Justice Act comes into force - 16 Jan 16

Highlights:

Anyone subjecting a child to corporal punishment in school,
orphanage, hostel or child care institution could be jailed for three months or
even face dismissal from service and fine, under the new Juvenile Justice Act.

The controversial Act, which allows children above 16 years
of age to be treated as adults if they are accused of heinous crimes like
gang-rape, murder and acid attacks, came into effect.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill
was passed by Rajya Sabha in the winter session of Parliament and got
presidential assent on December 31.

Under the juvenile law till now, even those accused of
heinous offences like rape could be tried only by Juvenile Justice Boards and,
if found guilty, sent to correctional homes for not more than three years.

The new Act allows Juvenile Justice Boards to conduct
preliminary inquiry to find out whether the juvenile was indeed guilty of a
heinous offence.

The demand for reducing the age for trying juveniles accused
of heinous crimes was made following the December 16 gang-rape in the national
capital.

Several new offences committed against children, which were
not adequately covered under any other law, are included in the Act.

These include sale and procurement of children for any
purpose including illegal adoption, corporal punishment in child care
institutions, use of child by militant groups, offences against disabled
children and kidnapping.

The law also provides legal provisions for women and child
development (WCD) ministry's initiatives including foster care, adoptions and
monitoring of orphanages.

The Act also has provisions for child-friendly legal system
including children's courts and regulations like children will not be tried
along with other offenders.

The government has set up an inter-ministerial panel for
identifying coal and lignite mines to be put up for auction or allotment.

It is a part of the government’s policy for the development of coal
gasification.

The development of
underground coal gasification (UCG )is envisaged to provide energy security.

The panel being chaired by Additional Secretary, Coal has
members from ministries such as Petroleum and Natural Gas, an official said.

The panel would discuss, identify and make recommendation on
coal blocks have to be either auctioned or alloted (for underground coal
gasification).

The panel also has members from Niti Aayog and Central Mine
Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI).

The Union Cabinet last month approved a policy for
developing Underground Coal Gasification in coal and lignite bearing areas in
the country.

A policy on the lines of the existing policy for Coal Bed
Methane (CBM) development on a revenue sharing basis will be adopted to offer
the blocks through competitive bidding.

UCG is a method of extraction of energy from coal/lignite
resources which are otherwise regarded as uneconomical to work through
conventional mining methods.

Ministry of Coal may also engage a consultant for
development of the contract document.

Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL)
will be the nodal agency for development of bid documents, work programme,
conducting the bidding process, evaluation of bids, monitoring and process
protocols etc.

In the perspective of next two years some explored blocks
will be identified for offer.

Additional blocks will be identified for offer in the
long-term.

Postal Department to open 1,000 ATMs by March this year - 17 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Department of Posts (DoP) plans to open 1,000 ATMs and
bring all 25,000 departmental post offices under core banking system by March
this year.

It has already rolled out core banking system (CBS) in
12,441 post offices along with 300 ATMs.

Ace Indian cricketer Virat
Kohli became the fastest to register 24 hundreds and pile up 7,000 runs in
one-day cricket.

He has surpassed the twin milestones in just his 161st
innings.

The top-order batsman got the better of the Australian
bowling attack at the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a
run-a-ball knock that was laced with seven fours and two sixes.

During his well-paced effort, Kohli left his idol and
cricket icon Tendulkar far behind in terms of the quickness in the number of
centuries and runs scored so far.

Tendulkar got to his 24th ton in his 219th innings while
scoring 7000 plus runs in 189 innings.

The quickest to 24 centuries list has some big names in
former Australian captain Ricky Ponting (278) and Sri Lankan greats Sanath
Jayasuriya (370) and Kumar Sangakkara (378), but none comes close to Kohli.

The 27-year-old left behind South African run-machine AB de
Villers (166) in terms of getting to the landmark early.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly (174), West Indian
legend Brian Lara (183), former Caribbean batsman Desmond Haynes (187), South
African great Jacques Kallis (188) and Tendulkar (189) also got the 7000-run
mark early in their respective careers, but stand way behind Kohli.

Indian Railways to manufacture locos that run on diesel, electricity - 17 Jan 16

Highlights:

In a first for Indian Railway, diesel locomotives will soon
haul trains by drawing power through overhead wires on an electrified route,
with the public transporter embarking upon manufacturing dual-mode engines.

Indian Railway will be manufacturing dual-mode locomotives
to run trains on diesel and also by drawing power through overhead wire on
electrified route.

Railways will manufacture five dual-mode locomotives of 4500
horse power (HP) capacity each at Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi as a
pilot project.

Though similar locomotives are operational in the US and
South Africa, it will be a first in India, the official said.

A dual-mode locomotive is estimated to cost about Rs 18
crore, while a 4500 HP diesel locomotive costs about Rs 13 crore.

The proposal has been forwarded to the Research Design and
Standard Design (RDSO), the research wing of Indian Railway, to finalise
specifications.

After the RDSO approval, DLW will be manufacturing five such
locos on a pilot basis. The locos will be pressed into service on certain
electrified routes on a trial basis.

The dual-mode locomotive will be heavier than the diesel
locomotive and is expected to run at a maximum speed of 135 km per hour.

A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which
the prime mover is a diesel engine, while in an electric locomotive, the engine
moves on power drawn through a pantograph mounted on the roof of the train.

Pantograph is an apparatus mounted on the roof of an
electric train, tram or electric bus to collect power through contact with an
overhead wire.

Northern India’s first permanent exhibition on nuclear power
‘Hall of Nuclear Power’, was inaugurated
on 16 January 2016 at New Delhi

‘Hall of Nuclear
Power’ is the name of Northern India’s first permanent exhibition on nuclear
power.

It was inaugurated on 16 January 2016 at the National
Science Centre (NSC) in New Delhi.

With the setting up of “Hall of Nuclear Power” in New Delhi,
it will become possible to showcase all the great achievements and milestones
achieved by India’s nuclear programme in the last 60 years in the national
capital region.

Similar permanent exhibitions (galleries) on nuclear power
have also been built at Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu Science and
Technology Science Centre, Chennai.

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle smashed fifty from 12 balls
for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.

Chris Gayle plundered Greg West for 27 runs in the first over and hit the last four deliveries for six.

He was equal with
India's Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest half-century in Twenty20 cricket.

Left-hander Yuvraj achieved the feat against England in a
group match at the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007 in South Africa, smashing
fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over.

Opening batsman Gayle plundered 21-year-old Adelaide
Strikers bowler Greg West, playing his second T20 match, for 27 runs in the
first over and hit the last four deliveries for six.

His seventh maximum took Gayle past his half-century as he
deposited spinner Travis Head over the long-on boundary.

India became 2nd largest fruit producer in world - 18 Jan 16

Highlights:

India became the second largest globalfruit producer after China.

Annual growth in horticulture has seen fruit production grow faster than vegetables though the latter constitute the largest segment of this sector of agriculture.

The stellar performance of fruits has attracted attention of statisticians with the agriculture ministry's 'horticultural statistics at a glance 2015' noting that India was making its presence felt as the second largest producer of vegetables and fruit.

Grapes occupy the premier position in exports with 107.3 thousand tonnes valued at Rs 1,086 crore in 2014-15.

Other fruits which attained significant position in exports are banana and mango.

Robust growth of horticulture indicates a growing demand within the country too.

There is scope for further growth as while India lies second in the list of major fruit producing countries featuring China, the US, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey, its productivity lags most of these countries.

India's success in horticulture lies in small towns and districts.

In 2012-13, Chittoor and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Baramula in Jammu and Kashmir, Nalgonda in Telangana, Sagar and Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh, Darjeeling in West Bengal and Pune, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Sangli in Maharashtra shone on India's fruit map.

People can play an important role in governance through this
mobile application.

DVAT BILL software has been developed by Delhi government’s
Trade and Taxes department.

Through this app, people can become a “VAT Inspectors”.

The scheme would be for bill or cash memo/retail invoice of
not less than Rs 100 for purchases made from a registered dealer in Delhi.

To be eligible for the reward scheme, the taxable value of
the goods purchased should not be less than Rs 100.

The customer can upload the picture of bill/cash memo in the
mobile or the send the snapshot of the bill on the application.

A unique ID would be generated for each bill.

The bill should have the registration number (TIN) of the
dealer, besides full name of each item purchased, apart from the rate of tax
charged against each.

The cash award would be transferred to the bank account of
the customer directly after verification of the purchases from the seller
through ward VAT inspector.

The winner would be selected through a computerised lucky
draw on 15th ofÂ every month using the unique IDs generated against each bill
received by the department.

The prize amount would be five times the value of goods
purchased (excluding tax), subject to a maximum of Rs 50,000.

However, the scheme will not be applicable on the purchase
of motor vehicle, petroleum product and tax invoice taxation between dealer and
embassy sales.

Somnath Temple to invest in Gold Monetisation Scheme - 18 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Somnath Temple Trust is all set to become Gujarat’s
first temple to deposit its idle gold in the Gold Monetisation Scheme.

Its trustees including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have
given their nod to invest the yellow metal reserves in the scheme.

The trust has around 35 kg of gold and will deposit the gold
which is not in day-to-day use of the temple.

The decision was taken during the recently held meeting of
trustees at Modi’s residence in Delhi on January 12.

Now, the management will segregate the pure gold from the
whole lot to finalise the quantum of gold which can be deposited.

Other trustees of the Somnath Temple trust include former
Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, who is also the chairman of the trust,
veteran BJP leader L K Advani, Harshvardhan Neotia and JD Parmar. All these six
trustees were present during the meet.

BJP president Amit Shah was appointed as the seventh trustee
during the meet on January 12.

Gujarat has three main temples - Somnath Temple, Dwarkadhish
Temple in Devbhoomi, Dwarka district and Ambaji Temple in Banaskantha district.

All of them are run by their respective trusts, which are
governed by Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board.

India has received more loans than any other country some
$102 billion - from the two major global lending agencies, International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) known as World Bank and International Development
Association (IDA) in the last 70 years.

The World Bank has lent around $53 bil lion and IDA, $49
billion between 1945 and 2015 according to a recent World Bank report. Brazi
follows India at $59 billion.

China took $55.6 bil lion and Mexico was at $54 billion.

These funds went into key infrastructure projects like
transport, water and irrigation health, power and agriculture.

India has been a member of the Bretton Woods project and
joined the World Bank in December 1945 as a member.

China is the most populated country in the world, it was not
a member till April 1980.

India being the second most populated country in the world
has received maximum loans from World Bank since 1945.

Starting with 1990s, the focus of the loans has changed to
rural sector and education.

Several schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have been
introduced with help from World Bank," said Sen.

The District Primary School Education Programme (1993-94)
was a project for which IDA lent `5,137 crore.

In the 1950s, World Bank lent millions of dollars to boost
the foreign exchange reserves of ICICI project.

Some $14million was loaned towards the development of Madras
Port and that loan was closed in 1966.

One of the biggest infrastructure projects that World Bank
helped was the Sardar Sarovar project in Gujarat.

This GTCI list was compiled by INSEAD business school in
partnership with Adecco and Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore
(HCLI).

India has slipped 11 places to rank 89th on a global index of
talent competitiveness.

Switzerland is ranked as top list.

Switzerland is followed by Singapore, Luxembourg, the US and
Denmark in the top five positions on the annual Global Talent Competitiveness
Index (GTC).

The data is released by INSEAD business school in
partnership with Adecco Group and the Human Capital Leadership Institute of
Singapore.

India's ranking is worst among the five BRICS countries,
with China leading the pack with a global rank of 48.

Last year, India was ranked 78th on the index that measures
a nation's competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce,
attract and retain.

It is released every year on the first day of the World
Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting here.

It noted that this is particularly the case in Brazil, where
talent capabilities show signs of weakening on all fronts despite relatively
low scores in vocational skills, China continues to strengthen in growing
talent.

According to the report, another challenge for countries
such as China and India is to attract talent from abroad, particularly in the
context of large emigration rates of high-skilled people in the past.

China has a low performance in terms of Attract (71st), and
India shows one of the worst scores (103rd) - particularly affected by the lack
of international students.

This index measures a nation’s competitiveness based on the
quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain. Report highlights In this
edition of list top 20 scoring countries are all high-income countries. The top
rankings were dominated by European countries.

The state government of Kerala set to adopt policy on antibiotic resistance
- 19 Jan 16

Highlights:

Kerala is all set to become the first state to adopt a
comprehensive policy to fight growing antibiotic resistance.

It identified as one of the biggest medical crises in the
country.

It is launching the first antibiotic stewardship programme which
will cover public and private health services.

On January 23, the state will be hosting an international
symposium on antibiotic stewardship and infection control and prevention to be
attended by health secretaries of over 16 states.

They will discuss the model being tried out in Kerala and
the feasibility of other states adopting it.

As part of the programme's introduction, a series of
consultative workshops have been completed.

The draft of the programme will be prepared out of the
several pre-conferences and will be adopted by the government.

This will be uploaded on the official website and updated
every quarter, and there will be a review at the end of one year.

In continuation with the development of state antibiogram, a
series of parallel programmes are also planned to ensure behaviour change among
patients and doctors in keeping with rational antibiotics usage.

The programme will look at what antibiotics ought to be
available and what ought to be used at various levels of health facilities and
will also be looking into restricting self-medication and irrational
prescriptions.

The programme will be targeting allopathic doctors and
pharmacists to educate them on rational use of antibiotics and will seek to
change public behaviour through large scale awareness programmes.

For the first time, China has launched an online system to
check the “authenticity” of top Tibetan Buddhist monks, amid growing incidents
of fraud involving religious leaders.

The first list of 870 verified Tibetan monks, also known as
‘Living Buddhas’, was published on the official website of the State Administration
for Religious Affairs.

It is the first time information on the country’s religious
leaders is accessible via the Internet.

The online database follows a government white paper in
September last year.

Originated in the 13rd century AD, reincarnation of Living
Buddhas is a unique inheritance system in Tibetan Buddhism.

Since 2010, the BAC began to issue certificates to living
buddhas.

The system was put in place to counter fake Living Buddhas,
who have been found cheating believers for money and undermining the reputation
of Living Buddhas and Tibetan Buddhism.

One of the most renowned cases involved Wu Darong, who
pretended to be a Living Buddha and was worshipped by the famous Chinese artist
Zhang Tielin.

The system, which can be used both on computers and mobile
phones, publishes detailed, accurate information on Living Buddhas, including
photos, names, religion names, monastic titles, date of birth, religious sects,
numbers of Living Buddha certificates and resident monasteries.

The association is continuing its verification of other
Living Buddhas in hopes of creating a complete database.

The scheme refinances collateral-free loans of up to Rs 10
lakh given by lending institutions to non-corporate small borrowers, for
income-generating activities in the non-farm segment.

The Reserve Bank of India would continue to regulate MFIs registered
as non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) with the central bank.

MFIs will not be regulated by the Micro Units Development
and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank, as proposed by the finance ministry earlier.

MUDRA Bank will regulate banks only for the purpose of MUDRA
loaning.

MUDRA Bank will not be the regulator of the micro finance
institutions.

The RBI as a regulator for the MFIs registered as the non
banking finance companies.

The proposed Bank will also oversee the Rs 3,000 crore
Credit Guarantee Fund that the government has approved last week to facilitate
the MUDRA scheme.

The Fund will provide insurance against default on MUDRA
loans to the maximum extent of 50%, thereby helping reduce risk taken by banks
and financial institutions.

In a statement on March 1, 2015, a day after the Budget, the
finance ministry had said that the MUDRA Bank will regulate all MFIs.

“MUDRA Bank would be responsible for regulating and
refinancing all Micro-finance Institutions (MFI) which are in the business of
lending to micro/small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and
services activities.

The MUDRA Bank would primarily be responsible for laying
down policy guidelines for micro/small enterprise financing business,
registration of MFI entities, regulation of MFI entities, accreditation /rating
of MFI entities.

MUDRA Ltd currently operates as an NBFC registered with the
RBI.

The government was expected to come out with a legislation
to empower MUDRA to regulate MFIs. While the government has last week approved
conversion of MUDRA Ltd into MUDRA-SIDBI Bank, it is now clear that the Bank
will not regulate MFIs registered with RBI.

Banks and MFIs can draw refinance under the Scheme after
becoming member lending institutions of MUDRA, which given these institutions
another avenue to raise funds from.

As on January 1, 2016, MUDRA loans amounting to Rs 71,312
crore have been disbursed to 1.73 crore borrowers by the banks and MFIs.

The government has refinanced loans to the tune of Rs 2,000
crore under the MUDRA scheme as on January 1.

The MUDRA scheme provides refinance for three types of loans
given by lending institutions – Shiatsu loans are up to Rs 50,000, Kishor loans
are between Rs 50,001 and Rs 5 lakh and Tarun loans of Rs 5-10 lakhs.

The Public Investment Board (PIB) has discussed the Rs
800-crore proposal from the India Post for setting up a payments bank.

The final approval on the same is expected in the next
meeting.

The proposal was discussed in the meetingbut no decision has been taken yet.

After the board approval, the proposal will be moved to the
Cabinet within a month.

The PIB under the Finance Ministry vets investment proposals
by state-run entities.

The pilot for payments bank is set to start from January
2017 and the full-fledged operations may start by March.

The department is likely to finalise the consultant for its
payments bank by the end of this month.

It had shortlisted six consultants but only three of them
submitted their bids.

The consultant will advise the India Post on setting up of
payments bank.

As many as 40 international financial conglomerates
including World Bank and Barclays have shown interest to partner the postal department
for setting up the bank.

The Reserve Bank has granted payments bank permit to the
department, which is already into providing financial services and has 1.55
lakh branches across the country.

As per the RBI guidelines, a payments bank can offer limited
services such as demand deposits and remittances.

They will not be allowed to undertake lending activities and
will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh per
individual customer.

They will be allowed to issue ATM or debit cards as other
prepaid payment instruments but not credit cards.

Public Investment Board better known as PIB has been established to examine the investment plans put forwarded by the individual ministries of the Indian Government in lieu of the respective public sector undertakings. All the investment plans with an estimated costing of Rs.100crores.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India’s
growth projection unchanged at 7.3 %in the current fiscal and 7.5 % in the
next, even as it cut world economic outlook to 3.4 % for 2016.

It was updated its
latest report on World Economic Outlook (WEO).

According to the IMF, China’s growth would slow to 6.3 % in
2016 and further to 6 % in 2017, but India would continue to grow at a “robust
pace”.

India and the rest of emerging Asia are generally projected
to continue growing at a robust pace, with some countries facing strong
headwinds from China’s economic re-balancing and global manufacturing weakness.

As for the world growth, IMF forecast 3.4 per cent for 2016
and 3.6 per cent for 2017.

For India, it retained the growth forecast at 7.3 % for the
current fiscal and 7.5 % for 2016-17 and 2017-18.

IMF had projected India to grow at 7.3 % in the current
fiscal and 7.5 % in 2016-17.

As for world growth, it had put the figures at 3.6 % for
2016 and 3.8 % for 2017.

Emerging market and developing economies account for over 70
% of the global growth.

A government task force has recommended that prices of
medical devices, including cardiac stents and implants, be regulated under a
mechanism that is distinct from medicines.

The committee has taken the view that costs of medical
devices should balance consumer and medical industry interests so that the
volume of business provides a sufficient incentive to manufacturers.

Pricing of medical devices should be different from that of
drugs.

It should be done in such a manner to ensure sufficient
incentives in terms of returns on investment.

The task force will be headed by secretary, department of
pharmaceutical (DoP).

The core committee under the health ministry has called for
a meeting with manufacturers of medical devices and stakeholders on the need
for capping prices of cardiac stents and implants. Sources said this meeting is
likely to take a final view on the issue.

The committee has to
take into consideration the views of the industry before submitting its final
report.

Once included in the national list of essential medicines,
prices of stents will be automatically capped.

However, DoP has been advocating a lenient price regulation
for medical devices.

It has proposed voluntary price reduction by companies to
avoid a price cap by the Centre.

It had asked the industry to submit representation to this
effect by December, so far nothing has moved on the ground.

There are concerns about the huge disparity between prices
of locally made medical devices and imports.

While the government's aim is also to plug this loophole,
multinational companies claim their technology and quality standards are
superior than those of indigenous firms.

Last year, the government eased policy to allow 100% FDI
under the automatic route in this sector. Such investments were also exempted
from conditions like 'non-compete clause' applicable for FDI in existing
pharmaceutical manufacturing units.

However, in the wake of uncertainty about pricing, India has
failed to attract investment.

At present, India imports over 70% of medical devices needed
and the global market is estimated to reach over $ 400 billion next year.

If India manages to promote and develop manufacturing hub
for low-cost medical devices similar to drugs, it can attract not only
potential investment but also export revenue in future.

Since the firms issued shares to more than 50 people, it
qualified as a public issue that requires compulsory listing on recognised
stock exchanges.

The regulator ordered the firms to refund the money
collected through the issuance of preference shares to the investors including
the money collected from investors with an interest of 15 % per annum
compounded at half yearly intervals.

The companies and their directors have been restrained from
the securities market "till the expiry of four years from the date of
completion of refunds to investors".

The orders will come into force with immediate effect.

In case the two companies fail to comply with the directive
within three months, Sebi would make a reference to the state government or
local police to register a case against them for fraud, cheating and
misappropriation of public funds.

Besides, Corporate Affairs Ministry would be asked to
initiate the process of winding up of the companies.

First infection case of Zika virus recorded in the USA - 20 Jan 16

Highlights:

A once rare mosquito-borne virus called Zika has been
recently found to be spreading rapidly through the American continent.

As per the reports, the first case was confirmed in Texas,
USA in January 2016 in a traveller returning from Latin America.

The disease caused by this virus, however, is not fatal and
lasts up to a week.

But health officials in the US have been alarmed about a
possible link between the virus and a birth defect called microcephaly that
causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and potential
developmental problems.

Here are some important facts about the Zika virus and the
fever:

A member of the genus Flavivirus, Zika virus is responsible
for causing Zika fever. The virus is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes

The illness is like a mild form of dengue fever and usually
lasts from four to seven days. The sickness is treated only with bed-rest and
cannot be prevented by drugs or vaccines

In 2014, the virus spread eastward across the Pacific to
French Polynesia, then to Easter Island and in 2015, to South America, Central
America and the Caribbean.

On January 15, 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) issued a travel alert advising pregnant women to consider
postponing travel to the following countries and territories: Brazil, Colombia,
El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico,
Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
because of the 'growing evidence of a link between Zika and microcephaly'.

According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA),sugar
production has increased by 7% this year.

There are 488 mills having produced 110.90 lakh tonne till
January 15, up 7.08 lakh tonne over the same period last year.

In the 2014-15 season, as on January 15, 2015, 63 mills were
in operation which have produced 17.71 lakh tonne of sugar.

In the 2014-15 sugar season, 494 sugar mills were in
operation and had produced 103.82 lakh tonne during the period till January 15.

The sugar mills have started their cane crushing operations
earlier this year, and therefore, despite lower availability of sugarcane as
compared with last year, sugar production is higher.

As compared with the 2014-15 season, sugar production in
Karnataka, UP and Maharashtra in the current season till January 15 has been
higher by 3.4 lakh tonne, 2 lakh tonne and 1 lakh tonne, respectively.

Most of the sugar mills in Maharashtra will close earlier
this year as compared with last season, mainly because of lower cane production
therein.

Maharashtra has crushed about 415.9 lakh tonne of sugarcane
with 168 sugar mills under crushing operation.

Till January 15, 2015, Maharashtra had produced 44 lakh
tonne of sugar with 10.6% recovery.

Last year till date, 173 mills were operational, which
crushed about 404.5 lakh tonne of sugarcane to produce 43 lakh tonne of sugar.

In UP, 116 mills were in operation during the current
2015-16 season and these have produced 27.07 lakh tonne till January 15, 2016.

In the 2014-15 season, as on January 15, 2015, 118 sugar
mills were in operation and they had produced 25 lakh tonne of sugar.

The other major sugar producing state, Karnataka, has
produced 21.12 lakh tonne till January 15, 2016 and there are 64 sugar mills in
operation as on that date.

In the 2014-15 season, as on January 15, 2015, 63 mills were
in operation which have produced 17.71 lakh tonne of sugar.

In Tamil Nadu, 25 sugar mills are in operation and they have
produced 1.60 lakh tonne till January 15, 2016.

This is 0.50 lakh tonne higher than the sugar production of
last year same period, when 20 sugar mills were in operation.

Gujarat has produced 5.70 lakh tonne of sugar with 20 mills
in operation. Last year, 19 sugar mills were in operation till January 15, 2015
and they had produced 4.97 lakh tonne.

In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as compared with last year,
four sugar mills have not started crushing operations during the 2015-16
season.

As on January 15, 2016, 26 sugar mills have
produced 3.27 lakh tonne as against 3.99 lakh tonne produced by 30 mills in the
2014-15 season on January 15, 2015

India has emerged Top Five most promising markets globally - 20 Jan 16

Highlights:

India has emerged as one of the five most promising markets
for businesses globally as it offers one of the best opportunities for both
domestic as well as global companies.

According to the annual global CEO survey of consultancy
giant PwC released here at the WEF Annual Meeting, the top five markets
considered as most important for overall growth prospects by the respondents
are USA, China, Germany, the UK and India.

The survey has covered 1,409 CEOs spread across 83
countries.

As per the findings, CEOs are less optimistic about
prospects this year and those who think global growth would improve over the
next 12 months have declined to 27 % from 37 % seen in 2015.

CEOs in India have given strong indication of general uplift
in sentiments by showing much more confidence than their global counterparts
when it comes to revenue growth for their companies.

As many as 90 % of the Indian CEOs cited inadequate basic
infrastructure as a major threat and 80 % mentioned exchange rate volatility
and 77 % cited over-regulation.

India as the fastest growing large economy in the world, it
offers one of the best opportunities for both Indian and global companies in a
world that is still coming to terms with a slower growth paradigm and
increasing geopolitical uncertainty.

About 39 % of Indian executives expect an improvement
whereas the global average is 27 %.

Around 75 % of Indian CEOs believe there are more growth
opportunities for their companies today than three years ago.

About countries most important for their companies’ growth
in the next one year, 54 % it was the US while 29 % respondents mentioned China
and 23 % went for the UK.

As many as 56 % of the Indian executives plan to implement a
cost-reduction initiative over the next 12 months.

Around 64 % of Indian CEOs felt the government had been
ineffective in achieving greater income equality.

About 51 % thought that the government had been ineffective
in reducing environmental impacts as well as in achieving a clearly understood,
stable and effective tax system.

Around 81 % agreed that reducing administrative burden of
tax is as beneficial as reducing tax rates.

As many as 66 % of the CEOs see more threats for their
companies than it was three years ago.

The central government has approved a 'viability gap
funding' (VGF) of Rs 5,050 crore for setting up over 5,000 MW of grid linked
solar power projects.

The solar projects
are under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

The main aim is to push solar energy through this programm.

The VGF will be provided through reverse bidding.

One part of these
funds will be for domestic modules.

These companies will be given Rs 1.25 crore per MW and those
coming through international competitive bidding will get Rs one crore per MW).

The VGF reverse bidding auction will help in reducing the
power tariff in future.

According to the statement, it will be implemented by Solar
Power Developers (SPDs) with VGF under Batch-lV of Phase-ll of the JNNSM.

The total investments expected under this scheme is about Rs
30,000 crore.

The estimated requirement of funds to provide VGF for 5,000
MW capacity solar projects is estimated to be Rs 5,050 crore (Rs one Crore/MW).

This includes handling charges to Solar Energy Corporation
of India (SECI) at the rate of one per cent of the total grant disposed and Rs
500 crore for payment security mechanism for all three VGF schemes of 750 MW,
2000 MW and 5000 MW.

The upper limit for VGF will be Rs 1 crore per MW.

In case there is savings in the total VGF requirement,
quantum of capacity of 5000 MW can be enhanced, it said.

Under the scheme 500 MW capacity will be created this fiscal
while during four financial year from 2016-17 to 2019-20, solar power
generation capacity of 1,125 each year will be set up.

The scheme will be implemented on build, own and operate
basis through competitive bidding to provide solar power at a pre-defined
tariff of Rs 4.93 per kWh (unit) for first year.

The Scheme will be implemented by SECI as per Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Guidelines.

SECI shall prepare necessary bidding documents for inviting
the proposals for setting up of projects on a competitive bidding through
e-bidding.

SECI will enter into Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the
selected developers and the Power Sale Agreement (PSA) with the buying
entities.

Requisite funds for provision of the VGF support will be
made available to MNRE from the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF), operated by
Ministry of Finance.

Out of 5,000 MW, some capacity in each tranche, will be
developed with mandatory condition of solar PV cells and Modules made in India.

This will be called the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR)
category and remaining will be in open category.

If the policy is
implemented it would help reduce litigation and the hassles of small taxpayers.

Small taxpayers like retirees with mainly interest income
could soon be spared the hassle of facing a higher outgo as tax deducted at
source (TDS) and then seeking refunds.

Also, professionals with gross receipts up to Rs 1 crore may
be given the facility to show just 33.3% of the receipts as income and pay tax
on the same at the applicable rate, instead of going through the rigmarole of
getting expenditure to that extent certified by the taxman.

About 90% of the
professionals in the country would fall under the proposed presumptive tax
rule.

The suggestions made by the justice RV Easwar committee -
and put up on the income tax department’s website.

According to the panel, in cases where shares are held as
capital assets for one year or less and the annual gains don’t exceed R5 lakh,
the taxman won’t have the freedom to re-characterise the surplus as “business
income”.

While short-term capital gains tax is currently levied at
15% for listed firms, the tax rate on income of domestic companies is 30%.

The Easwar committee also recommended easing of the audit
compliance for businesses and professionals.

It suggested the turnover threshold for mandatory audit of
the books be raised from from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore for businesses and Rs 25
lakh to Rs 1 crore for professionals.

Also, it proposed that requirement of keeping books of
accounts be relaxed and aligned with the requirement of audits.

The committee recommended that the TDS (withholding tax)
rates for interest income and commission be halved to 5%.

It also sought
raising the TDS thresholds - from Rs 2,500 to Rs 15,000 for interest on
securities, from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for interest on bank fixed deposits and
from Rs 2,500 to Rs 15,000 for NSS deposits.

The committee found
that 80% of individuals and HUFs getting their tax deducted at source fell in
the tax bracket of under 5% while the TDS rate was 10%

These changes would mean that several thousands of
individual taxpayers won’t have to pay higher initial taxes and then seek refunds
later.

The committee also proposed disincentives for tax department
when it comes to holding refunds.

Some experts pointed out that the 33.3% norm for computing
income of professionals could pose a problem for high-income professionals who
show even lower portion of their receipts as income.

The Central govt. added 5 states in the group of states dealing with ISIS - 21 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Centre is likely
to add five more states to take the overall strength to 18 in a group of states
which have been jointly dealing with all ISIS-related activities in the
country.

Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and
Haryana are likely to be added in the existing group of 12 states and one union
territory.

The group of states, in close coordination with the central
government, deals with ISIS-related activities, share information and take
action.

It has become necessary to include a few more states into
the group as ISIS-related activities have been witnessed in these states too,
the sources said.

The Delhi Police have arrested four youths from Uttarakhand
for their alleged terror activities which were being done with inspiration of
ISIS terror acts. Uttarakhand is yet to be part of the group of states.

With increased activities of ISIS supporters online, the
government has asked the states to remain alert against the possibility of
'lone wolf attack' in the country.

The threat of ISIS was discussed threadbare at the meeting
of top officials of central intelligence and investigative agencies and police.

India is learned to have assured Maldives of its continued
commitment to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.

Both have engaged with joint training and joint combat exercises to help in
maritime surveillance and supply of military equipment to the archipelago.

This came after defence minister Manohar Parrikar held a
delegation-level meeting with his Maldivian counterpart Adam Shareef.

Ties between India and Maldives have faced some rough
weather in recent times due to the bitter internal power struggle in the
archipelago, which led to the jailing of former president Mohamed Nasheed early
last year.

As part of the ongoing training and
"capacity-building" of Maldivian armed forces, India has been
supplying Dhruv advanced light helicopters, radars and other equipment to the
country, apart from regularly sending warships and Dornier reconnaissance
aircraft to the archipelago for maritime patrol and surveillance.

India remains wary of China's efforts to expand its
strategic footprint in the strategically-located 1,190-island archipelago in
the Indian Ocean.

According to the WEF, India ranked 22nd in list of the
world's best countries which was recently released.

The report has been prepared by US News and World Report and
New York-based brand consultancy BAV Consulting and Wharton School of Business.

Germany is ranked number 1. China is ranked 17th on the list.

It was measured 60 countries on the basis of sustainability,
adventure, cultural influence, entrepreneurship and economic influence.

The survey was conducted among 16,200 business leaders and
other high-fliers.

The top five are :

Germany(1)

Canada
(2)

The UK (3)

The US (4)

Sweden (5)

India ranked at 22nd.

India has a fast-growing, diverse economy with a large,
skilled workforce. But because of its population, it's also one of the poorest
countries in the world based on income and gross national product per- capita.

India's oldest warhorse may now be creaking at all her
numerous joints but she is still game for a show of strength, a wee bit of
power projection on the high seas for the last time.

The 56-year-old aircraft carrier INS Viraat has now set sail
for what will be her last operational deployment.

The 28,000-tonne INS Viraat, which embarked six Sea Harrier
jump-jets as well as six Sea King and four Chetak helicopters from Goa.

It is headed for Visakhapatnam to take part in the
International Fleet Review (IFR) from February 5 to 8.

This will be INS Viraat's last journey, a cross-coast
deployment signalling the end of her yeoman service for India before she is
retired later this year.

On her way back to Mumbai, she will call on all major Indian
ports as a final salute.

It was originally commissioned in the British Royal Navy as
HMS Hermes in November 1959.

It has a 13-storey high carrier inducted into the Indian
Navy as INS Viraat on May 12, 1987.

She is still affectionately called as"Mother".

INS Viraat represented two acres of sovereign Indian
territory cruising on the high seas, ready to unleash her fighters and other
weapons against enemies in a jiffy.

INS Viraat will be joined by the country's other carrier,
the 44,570-tonne INS Vikramaditya with her integral MiG-29K fighters, for the
IFR.

INS Vikramaditya, or the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov
acquired from Russia in late 2013 after a $2.33 billion refit, will have to
soldier alone as the country's solitary carrier after that.

The 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier or INS Vikrant
being built at Cochin Shipyard will be ready for induction only by 2018-2019 at
the earliest.

India will then achieve its long-standing aim to have two
fully-perational "carrier battle or strike groups" (CBGs), with their
accompanying fighters, patrol aircraft, destroyers, submarines frigates and
tankers.

According to latest report of government, around 92% of
India's adult population above 18 years has acquired valid Aadhaar numbers.

The significant landmark enhancing the case for linking the
unique identity scheme to disbursal of benefits under welfare programmes run by
the Centre and states.

The Unique Identification Authority of India's (UIDAI)
achievement means that a very large majority of India's adult population is in
a position to access benefits through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts that should
significantly reduce leakages by way of ghost and duplicate identities.

The government's estimates show that most social sector
schemes suffer from suspect beneficiaries who amount to 10-15% of the recepients.

The Centre adding up to around 3.5 lakh crore a year, the
use of Aadhaar that significantly reduces the risk of impersonation could mean
savings in the region of 35,000-60,000 crore annually.

Banks are increasingly preferring Aadhaar identities for
quick verification as the biometric confirmation helps reduce time and costs.

It also allows banks to identify accounts that will receive
government assistance to better assess a loan seeker's financial status.

The government has spent 7,100 crore since 2009 in rolling
out the ambitious scheme to provide every resident an unique identification
number, the possible benefits could far outstrip these costs.

The World Bank recently applauded the Aadhaar initiative and
estimated that use of the scheme was saving the government about $1 billion
(650 core) annually by curbing corruption while underlining that digital
technologies could promote inclusion, efficiency and innovation.

5th navigation satellite takes India closer to ‘desi GPS’ - 22 Jan 16

Highlights:

Indian Space Research Organization's PSLV-C31 carrying
IRNSS-1E takes off during its launch from Satish Dhawan Space Center in
Sriharikota.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched the
fifth (IRNSS-1E) navigation satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation
Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation.

It will function as an alternative to the US-owned Global
Positioning System (GPS).

An XL version of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C31)
placed in orbit the satellite after lift-off from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota.

The indigenous navigation system will be fully operational
in six months though all the seven satellites would be in orbit much earlier.

Presently, ISRO’s chairman is AS Kiran Kumar.

IRNSS will provide navigation and positioning services in
areas that require high precision for aviation, marine navigation, rail
transport and military applications.

In six-months, ISRO expects the system to be integrated with
smartphones.

The launch was the 32nd consecutively successful flight of
PSLV, and the 11th of the XL version which has four strapon boosters.

The four satellites, meanwhile, have been functioning from
their designated orbital slots with an achieved position accuracy of

IRNSS would cover only a radius of 1,500km with India at the
centre.

However, it will reduce the country's dependence on foreign
systems during emergencies including military situations.

Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russia have
expressed interest for cooperation in developing satellite navigation systems
with India.

IRS officer Atulesh Jindal appointed new CBDT chief - 22 Jan 16

Highlights:

Senior revenue
service officer Atulesh Jindal was appointed chairman of Central Board of
Direct Taxes (CBDT).

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the apex
policy-making body of the income tax department.

He will succeed A K Jain, who completes his term at the end
of this month.

It is regular transfer and posting, expected that he will
achieve his target within short period he has at his disposal.

The appointments committee of the cabinet has approved the
appointment of Jindal as chairman CBDT.

Atulesh Jindal is a 1978 batch Indian Revenue Service
(IRS) officer.

He is currently working as member (revenue) in the CBDT.

He will have a tenure of six-months till he retires in July
2016.

Apart from its chairman, CBDT has six members and is the
supreme body for framing policies related to direct taxes.

According to United Nations world economy report , India
will be the world’s fastest growing large economy at 7.3 % in 2016, improving
further to 7.5 % in the following year.

India’s economy, which accounts for over 70 % of South
Asia’s GDP.

The South Asia is expected to be the world’s fastest-growing
region in 2016 and 2017.

Consumer and investor confidence has risen even as India’s
government faces difficulties in implementing its wide-ranging reform agenda
and some economic indicators, such as industrial production, remain volatile.

Spending on infrastructure, health and education is very low
compared to other nations such as China in the region.

The decline in oil prices of course provide some room to
offset the burden of fuel bill.

India will boost spending on infrastructure and social
segment.

Noted danseuse Mrinalini Sarabhai passes away - 22 Jan 16

Highlights:

Noted danseuse and Padma Bhushan recipient Mrinalini
Sarabhai passed away in Ahmedabad at the age of 97.

She was trained in Bharatnatyam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattom.

Besides being a classical dancer, she was a poet, writer and
environmentalist and played a leading role in the social and art scene in
Ahmedabad.

She was one of the
first classical dancer to turn to choreography.

She is survived by daughter Mallika and son Kartikey,
founder of Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environment Education (CEE).

Brief History:

Mrinalini Sarabhai was born on 11 May 1918.

She was educated at Shantiniketan under Rabindranath Tagore.

She was married to the architect of India's space programme,
Dr Vikram Sarabhai.

She was the founder of the Darpana Academy of Performing
Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry,
in the city of Ahmedabad.

She was also the first Indian to receive the medal and
Diploma of the French Archives Internationales de la Danse.

She was nominated to the Executive Committee of the International
Dance Council, Paris in 1990.

She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, New
Delhi in 1994.

She was presented with a gold medal by the Mexican
Government for her choreography for the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico.

The Home Ministry proposes to re-notify norms requiring
hotels to report arrival of foreign visitors to the registration officer.

The said propose come under the Foreigners Act, 1946, while
omitting them from the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992.

The same is also being done for the report required to be
made by universities and educational institutions to the registration officer
detailing foreign student information.

According to the Home Ministry, the purpose behind the
proposal to amend the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992 to omit the said
rules, along with the forms, and re-notify them under the Foreigners Act, 1946.

Both Rule 7 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and Rule 14 of the
Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992 made it obligatory for hotels to
maintain a record/register of foreigners' staying at their premises.

However, there were different penalties for violation of the
said rules as well as different follow-up procedures under the two acts,
leading to confusion.

For example, while the penalty for violation under
Registration of Foreigners Rules was up to one-year imprisonment with fine for
a foreigner and just Rs 500 for an Indian citizen, the penalty under Foreigners
Act was up to five-year imprisonment.

The home ministry has sought objections or suggestions on
the proposed amendments from the public and other stakeholders latest by
February 3.

One of the rules proposed to be omitted from Registration of
Foreigners Rules, 1992 is Rule 14, regarding report to be made to and by
hotel-keepers to the registration officer along with Form 'C' (arrival report
of foreigner in hotel) and Form 'F' (hotel register).

The other rule is Rule 18 regarding report to be made by
universities/education institutions to the registration officer along with Form
G (Foreign Student Information System).

Both these rules and forms will now be made part of the
Foreigners Act, 1946.

Govt of India announced BS-VI emission to be enforced by April 2020 - 23 Jan 16

Highlights:

The Union government has announced that it would enforce
BS-VI emission norms for automobiles and auto-fuel by 2020.

The main objective is to takes a significant step that would drastically
reduce pollution caused by vehicles.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar informed a bench of Chief
Justice TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi that the government has decided to
advance the earlier deadline of 2023 to 2020 for enforcement of BS-VI emission
norms as well as supply of BS-VI auto fuel across India.

The government going
to enforce BS-VI norms and supply BS-VI auto fuel by April 2020 without going
to BS-V standards from the present BS-IV norm.

It will involve a huge capital expenditure of Rs 28,750
crore.

India is commitment to the global community that India would
strive to reduce carbon footprints by 30% by 2030 from the 2005 level.